Dimensions
by Nightangel1282
Summary: The Yu Yu gang winds up in the field right outside a woman's home in our world because of a Dimensional Specialist they were fighting against! Now they need her help! Full summary inside! Slightly Mary Suish... sorry, but Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**This takes place when characters from Yu Yu Hakusho wind up in the field outside a young womans home in the middle of the night a day after her parents left for a two month vacation. They were sent there by a Dimensional Specialist, and need to find a way to get back home... takes place in Alberta, Canada (Sorry if you don't like the setting, but I write what I know), and instead of it just being Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei and Kurama, there are four MORE members of the Rekai Tantei!! Jin, Rinku, Chu and Touya!!! Watch as this poor girl deals with hormonal demons, and what the FUCK is she going to tell her parents when they come home if they're still there?!**

Chantelle sighed, trying to pay attention to what her friend was telling her. Kirsten was going on and on about some awesome new anime that was coming to Canadian TV this summer, and she already had every single teeny tiny detail about the series, curteosy of the internet. And, of course, she had to tell her best friend every single one of those details. She had been listening to Kirsten prattly on and on for nearly an hour now, and she was wondering what she was going to do once she was off of the phone with her friend. She was out in the middle of nowhere... most of the neighbors were gone on vacation, the dog had gone with her parents on their cross country trip, there was nothing noteworthy on TV, and she just didn't feel like going on the internet. She had a tank full of gas in both the car and the van, though. Maybe she'd go for a drive and pay a visit to the bar in Morinville. She'd have maybe one drink and do some karioke or something.

"Chantelle?" she heard Kirsten say loudly.

She snapped back to reality. "Yeah, I'm here."

"I just asked if you were going to K days this year. Me and Tamara are thinking of going. You wanna tag along?"

"I dunno. It would get me out of this house, at least. And give me something to spend all that money on..."

Chantelle's favorite aunt had died the summer before, and left most of her money to her favorite neice. She had over ten million dollars in her account, and was straining her brain trying to think of what she was going to do with it all.

I heard that they're going to have an anime convention in one of the tents this year! I can't wait to see it. I even heard Rumiko Takahashi (AN: creator of Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha) was invited to sign autographs!!"

Chantelle smiled. "Wow, now that's cool! I just might take you up on that offer then, if that's the case."

The girl on the other end sighed. "Well, I'd love to talk longer, but I've got to be up early tomorrow. Dad wants me to go down to his place and help him go through a bunch of stuff up in the attic. I'm supposed to be there around nine, so I've gotta get to bed."

"Okay, kiddo. I'll talk with you tomorrow, then."

"Yup. Have a good night."

"You too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Kirsten hung up and Chantelle sighed, putting the phone back on the stand and tried to think of what she was going to do now.

Fuck it, she thought. I'll just hop in the car and take a trip to Morinville before the bar closes.

That decided, Chantelle set about logging off of the internet, which she had been halfheartedly cruising on before her friend had called her, and then set about shutting off the computer, wondering if old man Cedric was going to be in the bar tonight or if he'd been kicked out for being rowdy already. As the computer was confirming that she wanted it to shut down, she heard a faint but clear whirring noice, and saw a bright flash out in her field, just beyond the buildings in the yard.

She stared. "What the fuck?" she asked aloud. She tried to think of a rational explanation for what she had just seen and heard, but nothing seemed to make and sense to her. The skies were clear tonight, so it wasn't a storm. If it had been a plane crash, she would have heard the crash as well, and she was pretty sure there were no kids out there throwing around fireworks... and even if there WERE, what she had just seen didn't look like any fireworks that she had ever heard of.

She sighed. Well, it looked like her trip to the bar had just been delayed. She lit up a cigarette and grabbed a flashlight off the top of the fridge. It had probably been nothing, but she had to at least check. Since her parents were gone, it was her responsibility to make sure everything was okay out here.

She turned on the outside lights, put on her shoes and jacket, and walked out the door.

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Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, Jin, Touya, Rinku and Chu looked around themselves in disbelief. Then Yusuke growled, feeling his anger skyrocket.

"THAT BASTARD!! WHEN I SEE BONKOTSU AGAIN, I'LL PULVERISE HIM!!!!!!"

Touya looked around cooly. "You mean IF we see him again." He tested the air. "This doesn't smell like OUR earth."

Kurama sighed. "No, I don't suppose it would. Since Bonkotsu couldn't defeat us, he simply used his Dimensional Technique to get rid of us. He's the Dimensional Specialist of the Demon Realm. There's no telling where he sent us."

Kuwabara wailed. "YOU MEAN WE MIGHT NOT EVER GET BACK HOME?! WE'RE STUCK HERE?!"

Jin nodded. "It's likely... unless we c'n somehow open a portal linkin' back ta our world, but I have no idea how we'd win' up goin' about somethin' like that..."

Yusuke frowned. "We better be careful. For all we know, this place could be crawling with psychotic, bloodthirsty demons or who knows what kind of monsters..."

Hiei looked past them. "Somehow I doubt that. I don't think this place is all that much different from OUR earth, after all. And I think someone spotted our arrival and is coming to investigate," he said, pointing past them.

Turning as one, they saw a yard filled with buildings, illuminated by a light on the side of a trailer, and a small young woman coming out, holding a flashlight. She was still far away, and they couldn't make out the details of what she looked like, but it was all too clear that she was on her way to see what had just happened.

Kurama frowned. "We'll have to treat this delicately. If she's never seen a demon before, she might panic. Especially if she sees Jin or Hiei." The little thief had lost his headband and his third eye was out in the open.

The demons and two humans quickly jumped away from the beams of the flashlight, trying to stay out of her sight. Now that she was closer, they could see more clearly, the details of her appearance. She looked to be around their age, with beautiful pale skin, mid length hair that was such a dark brown it was almost black, full lips, wide green eyes, and she had a full figure. She stood, much to their surprise, only a few inches taller than Hiei. Definitely an attractive young woman. She shone the flashlight back and forth, her eyes curious, and her lips set in a contemplative frown.

_What do we do?_ Kuwabara asked noone in particular telepathically.

Kurama nodded to himself. _We have no choice. We will need help as long as we're here, and she's the only one available to us at the moment. We'll just have to do what we can to assure her that we're not going to hurt her._

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Upon finding nothing in the area behind the buildings in the field, Chantelle frowned in thought. She was sure that this was where she had seen it... unless she hadn't really seen anything at all? She shrugged inwardly. Well, she had come to check it out anyway. There was nothing. She may as well do as she was originally intending to do and go to the bar to sing a few tunes.

She turned, intent on giving up her investigation, only to come face to face with a very handsom young man with red hair and gentle green eyes. Cute as he was, his sudden appearance scared the hell out of her, and she let out a startled cry, taking a few steps back in alarm. She felt a massive hand go on her left shoulder and she almost jumped out of her skin.

"Easy. We ain't gonna hurt ya," a deep and somewhat drunk sounding voice said.

She briefly cast a glance up to see a large man with a mohawk and a unshaved face looking down at her. He held both hands up, trying to show that he didn't mean her any harm.

Chantelle looked back at the red haired man and saw that six others had joined him now. There was a boy who looked like a rough and tumble street punk, with black hair slicked back, a few strands hanging in his eyes. He was wearing what looked like a green uniform. Then there was another boy with flaming orange hair slicked back. He wasn't exactly what you'd call overly attractive, but he looked like he had one hell of a body under his T-shirt and jeans. Then there was an incredibly gorgeous man with light green hair slicked back, with some blue bangs sticking out to the right. He had icy eyes that were on her unwaveringly. Then there was a little kid with a baseball cap on backwards, three stars under his left eye, a yoyo, and normal street clothes who was looking up at her with a grin.

But the last two were the ones that really got her attention. With a casual glance, one would think they were human, but this close up, it was obvious that they weren't. The first had long shaggy red hair, pointed ears, and a single horn sticking out above his forehead in amongst his hair. Through his grin, she could also see that he had fangs. The other one was small... actually a few inches shorter than her own five foot four. He had gravity defying hair that was pitch black except for a starburst of white in the front. He had intense crimson eyes that sent shivers down her spine and a cool expression on his face as his eyes bore into her. But what shocked her the most about him was the third eye he had in the center of his forehead.

She felt a whisper of panic returning to her again as she took a hesitant step back. Now she was wishing she had just stayed in the house...

The red haired man took a step forward, holding his hands up. "Sh... It's all right. I know you're afraid, but I promise you we will NOT hurt you." He gently took hold of her right hand and gave it a light squeeze, and then he gave her a gentle smile. "My friends and I are in an odd situation, and we are hoping you are willing to help us. My name is Kurama. This is Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Touya, Rinku, Chu, and Jin."

Her eyes kept traveling to the ones named Hiei and Jin. "Um... that is..."

Kurama's smile grew a little, knowing what it was that was bothering her. "Hiei's third eye and Jin's horn are what's bothering you, isn't it? You are no doubt guessing correctly that they are NOT human. In fact, many of us are not. All but two of us are actually demons."

Her eyes went wide. "Demons?!"

Touya looked at her. "Don't worry. Not all demons are evil. We work for an organization that hunts down and captures or kills demons that are doing harm. We work to protect humans, not harm them."

Kurama nodded. "That's right. We were on one of our missions when our enemy, who was a Dimensional Specialist, opened a gateway that brought us here. We have confirmed from the smell of this place that is is most definitely not the Earth that we are native to. So now we need some help."

She blinked. "So... that strange noise and flash of light I saw was the portal dropping you guys off here..."

Yusuke nodded. "That's right. So, can you help us? For one, we'll need a place to stay the night, and we need to see if we can find a way to get back home."

Kurama continued to give her his gentle smile... the one that had been known to charm any woman he met. "Yes. If you would be willing to give us help, we would be greatly appreciative."

Chantelle took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to get her heart rate back to normal and trying to clear her head so she could think straight. She thought for a minute. She couldn't deny the fact that they were demons from another realm... their story was far too straightforward, and the fact that two of them had inhuman characteristics, and that all of them had eluded her until they had decided to show themselves proved that each of them was probably a powerhouse. But if they were from another dimension, they WOULD need help. Also, if they had wanted to hurt her, they would have done so already, confirming that they were not demons to be feared.

Well, she had been complaining that her summer was going to be boring. It looked like that was no longer the case. She let out a sigh. "Thank God my parents are gone for the summer..." She looked up at Kurama, who still had her hand in a gentle hold and was smiling at her gently. "Well, I guess I can't just leave you guys to figure things out on your own. So come on. My house is just over here."

The red head nodded. "Thank you very much."

She managed a small smile of her own. "Don't mention it. I was getting bored, anyway."

The little boy ran up to her and looked up at her with a smile. "So, what's your name?"

She smiled at him. "It's Chantelle."

When they walked into the house, Chantelle smiled a little sheepishly. "Sorry about the mess. I wasn't expecting any company." Then she went to the fridge and pulled out a can of diet coke. "So, you guys want anything to eat or drink?" Then she blinked. "Come to think of it, do demons even NEED to eat or drink?"

Kurama smiled at her, trying to hide his amusement. "It really depends on what sort of demon you are. I, for one, would be happy with a glass of water. I don't want to trouble you at all."

Chu smiled at her. "You don' have any booze lyin' aroun', do ya?"

She pursed her lips in thought. "I think we might have a few beer in the fridge in the cold room. You can help yourself. Second door down the hall."

The large man grinned broadly. "Awesome!" He sauntered off.

Chantelle looked at her unexpected arrivals, seeing them clearly for the first time, standing in the light of the kitchen. Her eyes went wide, seeing that they were all covered in injuries and their clothes were torn. "Yikes! You guys look like you've been scrapping, all right!" She looked at them, her expression turning concerned. "I'll get the first aid kit and see what I can do. Then, if you want, I can wash and mend your clothes for you."

Kurama looked at her. "Are you sure? We don't want to trouble you more than necessary..." Kurama had been considering using his own energy to heal his companions, but his energy was still depleted from the fight.

She waved it off. "I'm sure. Besides, I was looking for something to do to pass the time anyway." She headed into the washroom, passing by Chu as he was returning, holding three beer in his hands, and she emerged a moment later with a first aid kit and lots of dressings, since many of her new guests looked like they had deep cuts. She immediately had Rinku take off his shirt and sit down on the couch.

Rinku had a pretty nasty scrape on his right arm, and a huge cut on his left shoulder.

The grown men were struggling not to laugh moments later as he was yelping in pain as she applied the alcohol to disinfect his injuries. "OWOWOWOWOWOW!!!" he cried, squirming under her administrations.

She sighed. "Well, if you don't stop moving, I'll never get it cleaned." She kept going for a few more minutes before she carefully wrapped the injuries. Then she got to her feet and headed into her parents room and went into a tall dresser, looking to see if any of her neices tomboy clothes were there. She smiled at him, handing him the clothes. "Now, I want you to hop in the bath and get yourself cleaned up. Just make sure you don't get your bandages wet, alright?" she said, giving him a gentle smile.

The boy turned bright red immediately and nodded. In actuality, he was older than the girl herself, but no one seemed inclined to point that out. The boy went into the washroom wordlessly, shutting the door behind him.

She smiled. "Okay, who's next?"

One by one, they sat on the couch (Hiei albeit very hesitantly), and allowed Chantelle to examine and treat their injuries. Each time she finished, she insisted that they bathe and gave them a change of clothes so she could clean and mend their old ones. She wasn't always able to get them their sizes, but it was the best she could do. She threw their clothes into the washer and got it started.

She smiled at them as she came back into the kitchen. "Do you guys want anything to eat? I can whip something up. I think there's some frozen pizza, if you..."

Kuwabara was in front of her in an instant, his eyes wide. "YES!! PIZZA!! PLEASE!!!!"

She took a few startled steps back and then smiled sheepishly. "Alright then." She took the pizza out of the freezer and quickly made up their meal.

Kurama looked at the clock on the wall then. "It's rather late. We should turn in." It was almost two in the morning.

Chantelle paused. "Sleeping accomodations..." She winced slightly. "Um... I don't know how you guys are gonna take this, but some of you are gonna have to share..."

Touya shrugged. "Whatever. Doesn't bother me."

She thought for a moment. "Let's see... two people could share my parents bed, after I change their bedding... the couch converts into a bed that fits two people, there's a cot in the storage room that someone could use..." She frowned. "Shit, that's only five. Since Mom and Dad took the foamies, I can't even set up spots on the floor. Where are the last three going to sleep?"

Hiei shrugged from where he stood, leaning against the counter in the kitchen. "I don't need sleep. So that takes care of one of us."

She nodded. "Okay, but that still leaves two..." she trailed off as she saw Chu sit in the rocking chair, a grin on his face.

"I think I c'n pass out just fine right here."

Chantelle blinked and then nodded. "Okay, but be careful if you're gonna lean back. By brother in law almost killed himself in that thing when it flipped over and landed on top of him." Then she thought again. "Where the hell is the last person going to..." She stopped when she felt someone tap her on the leg. She looked down and saw Rinku looking up at her, a shy expression on his face.

"I haven't seen my mommy in years, and she used to let me sleep with her. I've missed her lots since then, so... do you think that maybe...?" he looked away shyly, a sad face coming on.

Kuwabara fumed immediately. _What the hell does that little bastard think he's trying to pull?! He doesn't honestly think that she's gonna let him sleep with her, does he?!_

Chantelle turned to mush immediately, looking at his adorable form. "Aw, of course you can, hon," she said, smiling at him gently. Kuwabara's jaw dropped and his eyes went enormous. Yusuke, Jin, Touya and Chu fought to keep themselves from laughing at his expression.

She just smiled at them all. "Alright. I'm just going to get that bedding changed, throw your stuff in the dryer, and we can go to bed. Tomorrow, I'll repair your clothes for you, and we'll see how things progress from there."

Kurama gave her his heart melting smile once more. "We thank you for everything you are doing to help us. We greatly appreciate it."

She found herself fighting off a blush. "You've thanked me a half dozen times already. Really, it's no problem. As I said, it takes away the boredom."

She headed off down the hallway, leaving them alone.

Kuwabara growled at Rinku immediately. "What's the big idea, you perverted little shit?! You're older than she is, even! What a cheap trick to get into bed with a beautiful woman!!"

The little demon grinned. "Well, she said she needed one last place for someone to sleep! I can snuggle right up to her and she won't smack me 'cuz I look like a little kid!"

He felt a vein popping out of his forehead. "Why you dirty little..."

Yusuke put a hand on his former rival's shoulder. "Just leave him be, Kazu. He's not going to do any actual harm, you know."

He just continued to glower. "Fine, whatever. So who sleeps where?"

Touya shrugged. "I think Jin and I could share her parents bed. Any objections, Jin?"

The horned demon shrugged. "No problems here."

Yusuke grinned. "Kuwabara and I could share the couch, I guess."

Said boy shrugged. "Whatever."

Kurama nodded. "Which means I get the cot to myself." He blinked when he saw the young woman leaving the cold room with a bundle of bedding in her arms. "Would you like some help, Chantelle?"

She smiled pleasantly and shook her head. "I'm good. This will only take me a few minutes. Thanks, though."

As she made her way back to her parents room, Jin grinned. "That is one totally gorgeous woman..." he said.

Rinku nodded and he put his hands behind his head as he grinned broadly. "An' I get to share her bed with her!!"

Kuwabara glowered at the little demon once more, but held his tongue.

Chantelle soon announced that her parents bed was ready. Then she just changed the covering on the couch and set it up, setting two pillows down, along with a large comforter. She looked at Kurama. "All I have to do is get your bed set up. My Dad stuffed the cot into the far corner and it'll take me a few minutes to get it ready, though."

Kurama smiled at her once more. "It's all right. Just do what you can."

She smiled then and turned to Hiei. "Well, I guess you can just do whatever you want to tonight. If you want to watch TV or go on the internet, help yourself. You can hook up the headphones or whatever."

He shrugged. "Hn. I think I'll just spend the night outside."

She nodded. "Alright. I'll just leave the door unlocked then. I have a feeling that with you guys in the house, I don't need to worry about anyone trying to break in."

Hiei let a sadistic grin come to his lips. "They'd have to meet with me before they even got to the door." Then he calmly stepped outside without another word.

Chantelle went to the cold room then, Kurama behind her. For some odd reason, her father had placed the cot in the corner between the wall and a shelf filled with canned goods. There was another shelf along the adjoining wall that was filled with jars of homemade jams and other various things, and the opening between them was not big enough to remove the cot. So she had to somehow removed one of the shelves.

She sighed, looking at the set up. "Now, how the hell am I going to...?" The question was answered before she could finish asking it when Kurama calmly picked up the shelf filled with canned goods up and moved it over a few inches with seemingly no effort, making Chantelle's jaw drop.

He looked at her and gave her a bit of an awkward smile. "I should have told you, but I am a fox demon in human form. Only Yusuke and Kuwabara are human."

She nodded a little numbly. "Um... okay..." Then she smiled, shaking it off. "Well, I'll just get your bed made up, and you're all set."

She quickly unfolded the cot and brushed off all the dust that had gathered on it, putting on a sheet and a comforter. Then she added a pillow and smiled at him. "Well, there you go. Goodnight, Kurama."

He nodded. "Goodnight, Chantelle. Sleep well."

She nodded and shut the door behind her as he settled in for the night. She saw Rinku waiting for her in the hallway.

"You ready to go to bed now?" he asked her, putting his sweetest smile on.

She smiled back. Rinku was just so cute. "Yup. Come on, sweetie."

He took hold of her hand and let her lead him to her bedroom. She stayed in her normal clothes, not bothering to get changed. Rinku curled right up against her in the bed, taking his place beside the wall, and they went to sleep.

**Okay, there's chapter one! Tell me what you think!! Read and Review, please!! **


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm back!! Yay!! Here's chapter two!! Please R&R!**

**And no, I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

Chantelle made sure to wake up earlier than usual the next morning, at around eight, and set about making breakfast. She made scrambled eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and even cooked up a few waffles. She set the syrup on the table and got out some plates and cutlory, setting the table.

Yusuke and Kuwabara got up the second the smell of the food wafted through the house. They dug in immediately. They were soon followed by Kurama who strolled down the hall with a small smile on his face. He thanked her graciously and settled down to eat himself. Chu, Rinku and Jin joined in as well, Chantelle learning that Touya and Hiei didn't need to eat.

Kuwabara sighed happily and leaned back in his chair. "Damn, that was good! You'd make an awesome wife, ya know that?"

The girl blushed madly for a moment. "Um... thanks..." Then she started cleaning off the table and doing the dishes. It was ten by this time and Hiei had finally shown up, discreetly entering the house when Chantelle hadn't been looking. Then she got out the sewing supplies kit and started mending their damaged clothes. That took her the better part of two hours.

She then went into the cold room and emerged with a pail of cat food. "I've got to feed the kittens outside. Then I've got to take care of the gardens."

Kurama perked up immediately. "Gardens?"

She nodded. "Yup. My dad grows a vegetable garden every year, and my mom loves to grow flowers. I have to weed and water both of them before it gets too hot." She sighed, opening the window in the kitchen. "As it is, it's gotta be twenty five degrees outside." (AN: remember, that's celcius!! NOT Farenheight!)

"I happen to have a great interest in plants. Would you mind if I joined you?"

She smiled. "Not at all."

Kurama followed her out the door and she lead him first to the far garage, where a stray cat had had kittens about two months before. The kittens were running around like crazy now, and her parents had said they were going to try giving them away the second they got back from vacation.

The fox demon smiled and petted some of the kittens, which Chantelle had successfully tamed on her own. She had also named all four of them, as well as the mother which had been dumped by some oil well workers that came into the area. Several of the kittens rubbed right up against her, giving little mews as they did so, making Kurama's smile grow.

"They seem to be really taken with you. I suppose, to their eyes, you are as much a mother to them as their biological one."

She smiled as she cuddled one of the kittens, which was currently nuzzling her neck and purring up a storm. "I just love kittens. My dad almost had a fit when he found out they were up here, but me and my mom convinced him to leave them be until they were old enough to give away." She set the kitten down and then got to her feet. "Well, let's go."

Nodding, Kurama followed her out of the garage. He looked at her. "So, your family grows their own food?"

She smiled. "Well, we DO buy food from the stores, of course. This just saves us some money when winter time comes. We bag and can the food so we have some extra money for Christmas. It tastes better than processed food, anyway."

He nodded. "I suppose it would. I understand that store bought vegetables are sprayed with chemicals before they are put out for sale. That would most certainly kill some of the flavor."

Chantelle nodded. "My dad only sprays if it's absolutely necessary... like if we have an infestation of potato bugs or catepillars. The last few years the potato bugs have been a real pain. We don't have any insecticides right now, so we have to pick them off by hand if we come across any. They're ugly little things, but they don't bite or anything. I just hope that they're not infesting the garden this year. I really don't want to stay out in this heat longer than I..." They turned the corner and she cried out in alarm, seeing two large dogs digging in amongst the plants. "NOT AGAIN!!" She charged forward. "HEY YOU!!! GET OUTTA HERE YOU STUPID DOGS!!! CAN'T YOU STAY AT HOME?! GET!!! GO HOME!!!" she bellowed.

The dogs looked up as one and shot off, staying in the yard, despite her orders to leave. The girl growled. "DAMN!!! My dad tells me to just hit the little bastards with a stick, but I just CAN'T do it!!" She sighed. "I guess I'll have to call the neighbors and tell them to come pick them up... And I'm gonna give them a good piece of my mind when they get here! They told us that they would keep them tied up!!"

The dogs came back toward them, and she tried shooing them away again. "GO HOME!!!!" she roared. Then she sighed once more. The dogs were still coming right for them, obviously wanting to play.

All of a sudden, to her shock, Hiei showed up out of nowhere, between them and the two approaching dogs. He gave them a glare and a scowl, and the two animals skidded to an immediate stop and turned tail, racing out of the yard, whining and yelping the whole way.

The little demon smirked. "There. They won't be back as long as I'm here."

Kurama looked at her. "How's the garden?"

Chantelle's eyes widened as she raced to it. She immediately let out a moan. "Aw, shit!! My dad's gonna pitch a fit!! Six potato plants are gone and half of the peas..." She sighed. "Just great..."

Hiei shrugged. "Don't worry about it. With Kurama here, you have nothing to worry about."

She blinked. "Huh?"

The red haired man smiled. "You might say that plants are my specialty. Do you have any potato and pea seeds?"

She blinked and nodded, heading off to a small shed that was set off to the side. She brought out a package of pea plant seeds and six potato's. Kurama instructed her to plant them and she did so dubiously. She had no idea what he hoped to do. There was no way they were going to grow by autumn.

But then, Kurama calmly knelt at the end of the newly planted row of peas and stuck two fingers in the ground. Chantelle's jaw almost hit the ground when she saw his hand grow briefly and the plants grew at a rapid rate. After a moment, he removed his hand and examined his handywork. "That looks about right. Now for the potatoes." He repeated the procedure and then smiled at her gently. "There. Your problems are solved."

She could only stare. "That was... that was... way cool..."

Hiei looked at her. "Kurama has the ability to control plants. He could take any common weed and make it as hard and sharp as steel. Any plant can become a weapon in his hands."

Said demon just continued to smile as he examined the dirt between the rows. "Weeds don't seem to be a problem as of yet, so I don't think you need to pull them."

Chantelle nodded with a sigh. "Good. Then all I have to do is water the garden and I'm good." She picked up the hose and, after making sure both Hiei and Kurama were out of range, she turned on the water and had the garden watered in a matter of minutes.

Hiei had disappeared sometime while she was watering, and Kurama simply smiled at her gently. "And you said your mother has a flower garden?"

She nodded. "Yeah. It's not very big, but then again, my Mom doesn't exactly have a green thumb. This is like her third time trying to grow a flower garden. It's actually not doing too bad so far," she said ass he lead him to the front of the trailer where the flowers were growing.

He knelt down immediately and examined them, a small smile coming to his lips immediately as he touched them delicately and briefly took a moment to smell them. Chantelle pulled a few weeds that were rearing their ugly heads and watered the flowers with the watering can. Then she carefully examined the soil the make sure there were no potentially damaging bugs that could ruin her mother's garden.

Then she got to her feet with a sigh and wiped her brow. "Man, it's really starting to get hot out here," she said with a sigh.

Kurama nodded, getting to his feet himself. "Yes. We should get back inside before your fair skin is damaged by the sun."

Chantelle tried to fight off a blush at his description of her skin with little success. Kurama saw the redness in her cheeks and had to smile. She seemed to be a rather shy young woman.

She nodded. "Good idea. I should probably have a quick shower, too."

The two of them headed inside and saw the others had turned on the TV. Hiei was outside somewhere, they guessed, since they couldn't see him in the house.

Chantelle got a change of clothes... a halter top and a pair of shorts, and had a quick shower. Feeling much refreshed, she stepped out to join the others again. She sighed and sat at the table. "Man, I could really go for an ice cream about now."

Yusuke and Kuwabara nodded. The former had the front of his uniform open, and the latter had taken off his shirt, trying to stave off the heat. "Yeah, it's getting pretty hot now."

She looked at them all, a thoughtful frown on her lips. "You know... I could always take you guys into town for dinner tonight. I'm sure you guys must want to see the sights."

Rinku grinned broadly. "That sounds awesome! Let's go for it!"

She pursed her lips. "There's only one problem. I should be able to hide Hiei's third eye easily enough, but Jin's horn is going to catch some attention if I can't think of a way to hide it. I'm also going to have to buy you guys some other clothes while we're at it. Although I don't think once will hurt, if you walk out in public with those clothes, you're bound to catch some attention."

Kurama hesitated. "We don't want to impose. After all, won't this put a hole in your financial situation?"

She snorted. "Maybe if I bought a beach house down in Miami. I've got ten million bucks gathering interest. An inheritence from my great aunt. Trust me, I've been looking for an excuse to spend some of this cash."

Kuwabara grinned broadly. "You heard the lady, Kurama! She's got money and she's willing to spend!"

The fox demon smiled sheepishly. "Well, if that's the case, we are most definitely grateful. I'll get Hiei in here. He may be interested in going as well."

He stepped outside and a moment later he returned with the little fire demon on his tail.

Chantelle looked at him for a moment, thinking. "I have a headband that should hide that eye with no problem. That's not going to hurt it or anything, will it?"

He shook his head. "No. I usually have one over it, but I took it off in the middle of our last battle, and now it's still behind in our dimension."

She nodded. "Okay, then." She headed into her room and came out a moment later, handing him a red headband. He took it wordlessly and put it on.

She then turned to Jin and smiled at him a little meaningfully, holding one of her hands toward him. "May I?"

He grinned and shrugged. Chantelle carefully touched the horn, surprised that it seemed to be made out of ivory, like an elephant's tusks. It stuck out about two inches from above the forehead. She thought for a moment, examining it. "A bandana MIGHT do the trick..." she headed off to her room once more and got her white bandana. She put it on him and then examined her handiwork. There was a definite bulge where the horn was, and his shaggy red hair seemed to stick out everywhere behind him.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, Rinku, Chu and Touya laugehd. Well, Touya more chuckled lightly than anything, but the first four roared with laughter. "YOU LOOK SO FUNNY!!!!!"

Chantelle fought to keep her face straight with little success as she took it off. "Nope. That ain't gonna do it..." She frowned a little. "What the hell am I...?" She suddenly smiled. "I've got it!!" She raced down the hall once more and came back with a simple baseball hat. She took a pair of scissors and, after making sure of the position of the horn, she cut a hole that was the perfect fit. Then she placed the cap on his head and smiled broadly. "There we go! No one's likely to think the horn's real. They'll just think it's part of the hat! And it doesn't look half bad either. If anyone asks about the ears, we could always just say their a family trait."

Chu grinned at her. "Ya mind pickin' up some booze, too?"

Kurama was about to scold the alcoholic demon, but blinked when Chantelle readily agreed to get him some.

Hiei looked at them all. "So, we're all set to go?"

Chantelle nodded. "Yeah, I think we're ready for lift off. Let's hit the road."

They followed her out to her van. It was an older model and had two back seats, and three people could fit up front. Kurama and Hiei sat up front with her, Rinku, Jin and Chu sat in the second seat, and the final three sat in the very back.

She grinned. "Perfect fit. Nobody's too cramped, are they?"

Hiei frowned a little, fidgeting where he sat. "Hn. I'm not used to such a closed in space, but I guess I'll live."

She smiled at him. "It won't be too long. It's only an hour to the city. I'll take you guys to West Edmonton Mall... which happens to be the largest shopping mall on the face of the planet."

Yusuke grinned broadly. "Sounds great!"

Kurama blinked. "Edmonton... that's in Canada, isn't it?"

Chantelle looked at him in surprise. "Yeah! Wow... I guess your guys' world ISN'T all that different from mine. At least geographically..."

Hiei nodded. "Apparently so."

Touya looked at them. "So, we going?"

She nodded and started up the van. "Yup! And we're hittin' the road!"

**Alright, there's chapter two!! Please R&R!! (Trust me, it gets better!!)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright!! Chapter Three is up!!**

**I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

Chantelle brought them to the mall and they headed to several clothing stores that sold designer clothes. Hiei tried not to scowl as he was being measured to find his sizes.

She bought them each two new outfits, giving herself a total bill of $574.37... something that made Kurama wince, but Chantelle was less than concerned about the money. Then she showed them the sights in the mall... including the massive indoor waterpark which was filled with screaming kids and people of all ages enjoying the slides and wave pool.

Yusuke grinned, looking through the massive window. "Whoa... that looks awesome! I especially like the looks of that real tall slide that goes straight down..."

She smiled. "That's called the Sky Screamer... and it's great for giving you massive wedgies, trust me. My first time down that thing was my last time. I almost lost my bikini top on that damn thing, too."

Jin grinned broadly. "Hmm... I say we pay this place a nice long visit while we're 'ere."

Chantelle rolled her eyes and smiled. "Speaking of bathing suits, my bikini's getting worn out, so I should really buy a new one. You guys mind?"

Kurama smiled at her. "Not at all."

Kuwabara grinned broadly. "You gonna model them for us?"  
The woman couldn't help but smirk. "I think I could use a man's opinion. Sure, why not?"

They were then lead to a beachwear store and sat back as Chantelle tried on several bathing suits... all of them bikini's.

Kuwabara, Jin, Rinku and Chu all had huge grins on their faces. The first of them sighed happily. "This... may be the best day of my life..."

The other three nodded in full agreement seconds after the girl had modeled a beautifully skimpy bikini.

Kurama just smiled gently with a light blush playing across his cheeks, while Hiei tried to look indifferent with minor success. Yusuke was reminding himself that Keiko was still back in his world, and Touya had a small smirk on his face as he looked the girl over each time she came out. Within a half hour, she had decided on the suit she wanted and quickly paid for it. Then they were off once more.

The girl looked at her watch. It was almost five thirty. "So, who's hungry?"

Yusuke and Kuwabara immediately put up their hands, Rinku, Jin and Chu quickly following suit.

She smiled. "Okay. We can head to Buffet World. You guys can eat as much as you want there."

They fell into step behind her, Kurama looking around himself, admittedly in awe at the size of the place. "How do you find your way around in here? I'm completely lost."

She smiled. "I've been in this place hundreds of times before, and I know it like the back of my hand. The only place I haven't been in yet is the Fantasyland Hotel."

They made it back to the van ten minutes later and were soon pulling into Buffet World. She quickly paid for seven plates, which amounted to almost four hundred dollars, and they chowed down. Touya and Hiei settled on having only a few glasses of water.

When they were done, Jin leaned back in his chair and let out a happy sigh. "Ya know... I could really get ta like this woman..." He gave her a flirtatious wink, immediately causing her to turn bright red.

God, Chantelle thought. How the hell did I wind up with five totally hot guys staying in my house? The guys she was referring to were Yusuke, who, much to her relief, seemed to have no interest in flirting, Kurama, who was a total and utter turn on without even trying. She thought that if he actually deliberately TRIED to flirt with her, she'd be putty in his hands. Hiei was definitely cute, now that that strange eye was hidden from sight, but he still had the same cold and deadly glint in his eyes that sent shivers down her spine. Jin was definitely a flirtatious one, and he had totally awesome looks to back himself up. And finally Touya was totally gorgeous, and his intense gaze could send any girls heartrate soaring in an instant.

The other three were a different story. Even though Kuwabara most certainly wasn't BAD looking, he wasn't exactly drool inspiring either. He seemed really nice, though. Chu drank far too much for her, not to mention he was positively enormous. The guy stood at least two feet higher than she did and he looked like he was built like an ox. And Rinku... well, it was pretty obvious why she couldn't be attracted to HIM, seeing as how he only looked like he was ten or so. He was adorable, though. Chantelle had a weakness for kids, and he was too cute to her.

On the way home, Chantelle stopped by the liquor store and got a flat of beer for Chu and a few coolers for herself. She wasn't a big drinker, and never liked to drink alone, for fear of falling over and injuring herself with no one to help her. But with these guys here, she'd be safe.

It was nine o'clock by the time they got back home, and the sun was low on the horizen. The temperature had dropped to an nice level, making them all breathe a sigh of relief.

Chantelle smiled. "Ya know... if I wasn't already stuffed from Buffet World, I'd suggest having a weenie roast out here..."

Yusuke nodded, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air. "Yeah, it's definitely a good night for it."  
They headed inside, Chantelle flopping down on the couch immediately and smiling. "Well, all in all, I'd say today wasn't half bad."

Rinku grinned and climbed into her lap, leaning back so his head was right against her chest. "I'd have to agree with you there."

Kuwabara felt his eyebrow twitch. _Quit flirtin' ya little runt!!!_

Kurama smiled at him. _Now, now, Kuwabara. He's not doing her any harm, and she doesn't seem to mind. After all, to her eyes, he's just a child. Nothing will ever come of it, so just let him enjoy himself._

Jin grinned broadly, taking in the sight of the boy leaning into her impressive bust. _Mus' be nice ta look like a li'l kid... I'd love ta trade places with 'im._

Chu was already cracking open one of his beer and started chugging.

Then the phone rang and Chantelle got up with a sigh. "Alright, no one talk, please. Until I can think up some kinda excuse for you guys, nobody can know that you're here." She looked at the call display and blinked. "It's my parents cell phone." She answered it. "Hullo?"

"Hey there, Chantelle. How are things going over there?" her mother asked.

"Hey, Mom. It's going good. Having fun on your vacation?"

"Oh, yes. We're at a camp ground about an hour outside of Regina right now. We're going to head out for Winnipeg early in the morning. But I just called to ask you a favor."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Your father just finished talking with Brad over the phone, and he's selling the Flinstone Trailer to Brad for five hundred dollars. We were just hoping you could get all the canned food out of the cupboards and make sure that it's somewhat clean. Brad should be there to pick it up sometime in the next few weeks."

"Alright. No problem. Anything else?"

"You're making sure to keep all the kitties fed and watered, right? And you're taking care of the gardens?"

She rolled her eyes, a smile on her face. "Yes, Mom. The cats and gardens are fine.You might want to give the Stevenson's a call for me and tell them to keep their damned dogs tied up. They're more likely to listen to you than they are to me. I had to chase them out of the yard earlier today."

Her mother sighed. "Alright. I'll give them a call then. Well, I should go before the phone bill is wracked up. Now, your father wants me to tell you to behave yourself. No boys in the house... no hanky panky." She could hear the teasing tone of her mother's voice. And she could hear her father laughing in the background. In actuality, they could care less if she DID bring guys into the house... or if she did anything with them. She was, after all, over eighteen now.

Chantelle couldn't help but let a mischevious grin come to her face and she cast her eight companions a look. "Me? Bring boys into the house? Now would I do something like that?" she asked, teasing her mother right back. "And hanky panky? Isn't that old folk talk for 'getting it on'?" She winked at her companions and smiled into the phone. "I wouldn't dream of it..." she said, making sure to keep the light teasing manner in her voice.

Her mother laughed on the other end. "You little vixen. You know we trust you. And we really don't care what you do nowadays. You're old enough to make those kinds of decisions on your own." Then she sighed. "I've really got to go now. We'll talk to you later."

"'Kay. Later, Mom. You guys have fun."

"You too. Bye, hun."

"Bye." She hung up and saw the boys were all grinning at her.

Jin came up behind her and grinned as he wrapped his arms around her waist, immediately making her turn bright red. "So, your parents don' care, huh? Tha' works fer me..." Her back was pressed right up against his finely toned chest, and his strong arms held her gently. He grinned mischeviously and brought his mouth right up by her ear. "So tell me... how far have you gotten with a guy?" he purred.

The woman's face was so red, and her expression was so surprised, it was absolutely comical. She was away from the demon in an instant, holding a hand over her heart, which those demons with sensitive hearing could hear pounding insanely in her chest. She was blushing furiously at the sudden advance.

Jin grinned, along with the rest of the men, not threateningly in any way, but with a mischeif that was unmistakable. "What's wrong? It's only a simple question..."

Kurama smiled gently and stepped forward. "Now, now. Leave the poor girl be. You're likely to give her a heart attack at this rate."

Touya smirked. "Maybe... but it IS only a simple question." Suddenly he was in front of Chantelle, gently holding her chin with his fingers, his face only inches from her own, and giving her a seductive smile that would send just about any woman over the edge. "And I must admit to being curious myself..."

The girl let out a little 'eep' and raced behind the fox demon. "Save me..."

He chuckled softly and gave her his heart warming smile and a gentle look. "I'm afraid there isn't much I can do. You may have to answer them."

The girl let out a moan, and then sighed in defeat as the demons and two humans looked at her expectedly. Even Hiei had a somewhat mischevious smirk on his face, and looked at her unwaveringly.

"Alright... If you guys really must know how far I've gotten with a guy..." She rubbed the back of her head. "I... haven't..."

Kuwabara blinked. "You... haven't?"

She sighed again, and blushed even deeper. "Okay, I'll just come right out and say it. I'm a virgin. I've never had sex before and I've only been kissed once. That kiss was as far as I've gotten."

Their eyes all widened, and then she felt a sinking sensation in her gut when Jin grinned broadly. Hiei and Touya's smirks widened.

Kurama rubbed the back of his head a little sheepishly. "I'm afraid you may never get them to leave you alone now. Virgins are very desirable among demons."

She sighed. "Terrific... I'm surrounded by gorgeous, flirtatious men."

The fox demon chuckled and placed a hand on her shoulder, and turned to look at the others. "Alright. That's enough teasing. The poor girl looks like she's ready to faint from all the attention."

"Awww, c'mon, Kurama. We're just havin' some fun..." Jin said, a grin on his face as he let his eyes trail up and down the woman's form.

Kurama's expression turned a little stern. "Enough. At least give her a break."

Chantelle sighed in relief, thankful for the fox demon's intervention. "Well, I've got to get some house cleaning done before bedtime." She headed off down the hall and started doing her laundry. When she had both the washer and dryer full, she headed back into the kitchen and opened up one of her coolers, taking a few long sips and letting out a sigh.

Then she did a quick sweep of the kitchen, living room and hallway, and then scrubbed the bathroom down, taking small breaks in between to have a smoke or a swig from her drink.

Finally, she sat down on the couch with a sigh and rubbed her eyes. She was getting a little tired, with getting up so early and all the running around that she'd done today. Not that she regretted it or anything. The day had been very good overall.

Rinku let out a monster yawn. "I'm gettin' tired." He smiled at Chantelle. "I'm sleeping with you again tonight, right?"

The girl smiled and gave him a nod. "Sure, angel. You go on ahead, if you want. I'll be there in a few minutes."

He grinned broadly and sauntered off.

Chu grinned at her. "You do realize that KID is actually over a hundred years old, right?"

Chantelle blinked and then shrugged. "He's too adorable for me to really care. Besides, it's not like he's actually going to TRY anything." She opened a second cooler and just slammed it back. Then she let out a sigh. "Well, that should do the trick. I'm off to bed. You guys'll be okay, right?"

They all nodded, Kurama smiling at her. "Yes. You just get some rest. We can handle ourselves."

Nodding, she got to her feet, casting a quick glance at the clock as she went. It was almost two in the morning. She'd been up for nearly twenty hours.

She went into her room and flopped down on the bed, immediately feeling Rinku wrap his little arms around her. She smiled lightly and held him back as she fell asleep.

**There ya go!! Chapter three is up!! Please R&R!!!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright, here's chapter four!! Please read and review!**

**I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

She was up early again the next morning, and she set about making another large breakfast for her guests. She was out of bed and behind the stove at seven thirty, knowing she had a LOT of work to do today. This time she made omeletes, much to Yusuke and Kuwabara's delight.

She started working on the dishes immediately once she finished eating her own breakfast, cleaned off the table, counters and stove, did a quick sweep of the floor under the table, and headed out to do her chores, trying to hide the fact that she was still tired from the day before. She fed and watered the kittens, taking about twenty minutes or so to play with them. Then she got to her feet with a sigh and headed out to the gardens.

Weeds had sprouted up during the night, and there was no getting out of pulling them this time. She was out there for about an hour, pulling weeds and picking potato bugs off of said plants in the stiffling heat. A dull ache was starting up in the small of her back and she did her best to ignore it as she finished pulling the rest of the weeds in the carrots.

She sat up with a sigh, immediately feeling a small stab of pain in her shoulders and she swallowed a few times to get some moisture back into her throat. She wiped her brow and prepared to get to her feet when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Blinking, she looked up to see Kurama smiling down at her, holding a bottle of water. "I figured you might need this. It seems we are in the middle of a heat wave, and we don't want you to get dehydrated."  
She smiled in relief. "Thank you... so much." She accepted the bottle and took a few long sips, sighing in relief.

"So, what do you have to do yet?" he asked, smiling at her gently as he helped her to her feet.

She sighed. "Well, I've got to water the gardens again, and then my Mom wanted me to empty and clean up the trailer over there," she said, pointing at the camper nestled off to the side of the yard, out of the way. "My brother in law is supposed to pick it up sometime in the next few weeks, and my mom wants me to make sure we don't leave anything of ours in there. We still have some canned food in there, for instance, and she wants to make sure it's clean for the kids when they go camping next month."

Kurama looked at her, a little concern showing up in his features. "Would you like any help? You look like you're tired."

She blinked, surprised that someone had noticed. Normally she was able to successfully hide her fatigue. Then she thought for a moment. "Well, I can do the watering with no problem, but I guess it would be nice if someone could help me with cleaning the camper..."

He gave her that heart warming smile of hers. "I'll help you with that, then. It will make the job go by faster and much easier."

She gave him a returning smile. "I appreciate it. Thanks."

He merely nodded as she gathered up the hose and proceeded to water the vegetable garden. Then she filled the watering pot and did the same for the flower garden, checking to make sure that everything was still growing as it should.

Chantelle then went to the garage and got a wooden crate to put the food in the camper in. She'd have to put them away in the cold room when she was done, which was sure to be a major pain. The shelves in there were already crammed full with foodstuffs and she was going to have to get creative in finding places for everything.

An hour later, she and Kurama were finishing up. The fox demon was checking a few little nooks behind the campers table to ensure there was nothing hiding in them, while Chantelle was kneeling on the little counter beside the sink, trying to see onto the top shelves of the cupboards.

"Well, there's nothing left over here," Kurama said, setting a wash cloth aside after he wiped the area out, cleaning it for the next owner.

Chantelle squinted her eyes, spotting something in the far corner. It was impossible to make out what it was. It looked like some kind of furry ball. She reached up, stretching to get at whatever it was. "I'm just about done here. I think there's something up here, though. Just give me a sec..." Her fingers managed to lightly brush against the little ball of fur, and it came to life. The mouse let out a startled squeak and charged to the other corner.

Chantelle, for her part, was so shocked at this, she tore her hand out of the cupboard, letting out a shriek, and immediately lost her already somewhat percarious balance. She thought for sure she was going to crash to the floor, but a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and she found herself being held in the arms of the fox demon.

He looked at her in concern. his face mere inches away from her own. "Are you all right?"

She sighed in immense relief, now fighting back a furious blush. He was holding her bridlan style, his right arm around her shoulders, his left one around her thighs. "I'm fine... I just wasn't expecting to see one of THOSE in here..."

He smiled at her gently as he carefully set her down. "I will take care of it for you. I'll set it outside where it won't bother anyone." Chantelle watched as he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small seed. The seed sprouted before her eyes and vines gently wrapped around the mouse, trapping it without hurting it. Then Kurama stepped outside and released it. The little fur ball immediately charged off into the long grass and vanished from sight.

When he came back into the camper, she smiled. "You are one seriously awesome guy to have around, you know that?" She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for the save."

He looked at her, a little surprise showing on his features. Then he smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Of course." Then he looked at her. "I apologize, but I simply must ask... Are you truly... untouched? Forgive me if you find the question to be inappropriate, but I find it difficult to believe that a woman such as yourself has not yet experienced a man's touch."  
She blushed, surprised to hear the question coming from him. "It's true. I just... haven't come across the right guy yet, I guess. Most guys that are interested in me want only one thing, but I want an actual relationship, not a partnership based on physical attraction alone. Most men aren't interested in learning what kind of a person I really am. They're just interested in how I look."

She turned and saw Kurama's face inches from her own once more. He tilted her chin with his index finger and gave her his gentle smile. "You'll find a man who's right for you. I simply cannot imagine a woman as wonderful as you being alone for long."

Her heart rate skyrocketed immediately, and her face burned furiously at this sudden action. He removed his hand and he smiled at her. She could have sworn she saw a hint of amusement in his expression.

"My other half, the demon named Youko Kurama wishes to meet you himself. Especially since he learned you have never made love before. Most women find him to be very attractive and he has an incredibly... seductive nature."

Chantelle felt so much blood rush to her head it almost felt swollen.

The fox demon chuckled. "Not to worry. That won't happen on this day." He took in his surroundings. "So, are we finished up in here?" he asked, as though nothing had happened.

Surprised at the change in subject, Chantelle blinked, and then nodded. "Y... yeah. This should be fine." She headed over to the wooden crate, which was jammed with foodstuffs, and tried to give it a lift. It wouldn't budge and she sighed, sending a sheepish smile at her companion. "Do... you suppose... you could...?"

He chuckled once more and stepped forward, taking a hold of the box and lifting it as if it were no contest at all. "Come. Let's get inside. It's far too warm to stay in here."

Nodding, Chantelle followed him into the trailer once more.

Once she was inside, she wrinkled her nose slightly, taking in the dirt that was on her clothes and the grime that coated some areas of her skin after cleaning the camper. "I've gotta take another shower. I'll be back in a few minutes."

She had a ten minute shower and came out feeling refreshed once more. She smiled at them. "I'll get started on supper. How does lasagnia sound to you guys?"

Yusuke and Kuwabara grinned broadly. "You read my mind!" they said as one.

She gave them all a small smile and got started. Her back and shoulders were still aching, but she did her best to ignore it. She made up two large batches of lasagnia, which her guests made short work of, and then got started on the dishes, cleaned off the counters, table and stove, and just made sure the place was tidy.

She never noticed Hiei casting looks her way as she worked, unconsciously rubbing her sore shoulders.

The temperature didn't drop much that night, and it stayed in the high twenties. Although Rinku and the rest of her guests didn't seem to be affected by it, Chantelle found it impossible to get to sleep. And her sore back and shoulders weren't helping matters. She decided to get up and go for a little walk, hoping it would help to relax her.

She didn't bother with a jacket, just quietly slipping on a pair of runners as she slipped out the door, being careful not to make any noise that might wake up her guests. Then she slowly made her way to the oil well out back, taking a few minutes to note that the sky was completely clear and the stars were glimmering brightly in the night sky. The moon wasn't visible tonight, unfortunately, but the starlight itself lit her surroundings nicely.

The night was completely silent, except for the occassional cricket or the howling coyote off in the distance. Although it wasn't much cooler outside than it was inside, it was still a small relief.

She stood out by the oil well for a few minutes when she heard a strange sound behind her. She turned, blinking curiously, and almost had a heart attack when she came face to face with the ever serious Hiei.

She let out a yelp and took a startled step back, her hand going over her chest as she tried to get her heart rate down to some semblance of normal. "Christ, Hiei!! You scared the hell out of me!!"

His expression never changed as he folded his arms across his chest. "What are you still doing up?"  
She sighed. "It's too hot and I can't sleep. I thought a walk would help."

Hiei snorted. "Hn. It's not much better out here."

Chantelle smiled a little. "I noticed."

He looked at her. "I noticed something myself. You've been rubbing your shoulders a lot today. They hurting?"

She blinked, surprised that she had let it show. "I was hunched over in the garden for almost two hours, so that's why. But they should be fine by tomorrow..."

He shook his head. "Sit," he said, pointing to a large plank of wood that was lying down next to the oil well.

She hesitated a moment. not sure what he had in mind, but then she did as he asked and took a seat. She sat there for a few seconds when she felt a pair of hands snake over her shoulders and start to knead her sore muscles. She took in a sharp intake of breath and then sighed as she felt the tension in her muscles melting away.

"You shouldn't work yourself so hard, woman. Especially in the heat we've been having."

She couldn't help it as a smile came to her face, feeling relaxed as his hands worked their magic.

"Mmmm... I didn't know you could massage..."

When he spoke, his mouth was close to her ear, and she could feel his hot breath against her cheek. "Well... I'm just full of surprises," he said, his voice sounding a little husky and seductive... something that sent a chill down her spine. Then she felt his hands slowly made their way down her back, pulling apart as they did so, until they were trailing down the sides of her body instead, their touch very gentle. Chantelle's breath caught in her throat at this and she felt a wave of heat flow through her body.

"H...Hiei..." she managed.

"Shhhh..." His arms wrapped around her midsection, and she felt him sit down behind her on the slab of wood, one leg going on either side of her as he pulled her into his chest, his head resting on her shoulder. She could feel him smirk against her cheek. "Just relax. I'm not going to steal away your innocence. But being a fire demon, I can't help but do SOMETHING with a woman like you..." he purred. His lips brushed against her neck and he growled low in his throat, smelling a few pheremones her body was giving off. "Besides, you seem to be enjoying it."

She felt a shudder wrack her body and the heat was getting more intense. Behind her, Hiei chuckled and brushed his lips against her neck again as his hands very gently ran up and down the front of her body. "I overheard your conversation with Suichi earlier today..."

She blinked. "Suichi?" she managed to ask, not bothering to hide her confusion.

"That's his actual human name... Suichi Minamino. Only the demon inside him is named Youko Kurama, although he has grown accustomed to being called both. But in any event... I heard you tell him that you've never had sex because you are trying to find a man who's actually going to give you a relationship instead of having a companionship based on physical attraction. The pretty well puts me off of the list of potential lovers for you, since I have no interest in any sort of actual ROMANTIC relationship. I simply don't have the time or patience for such a thing. But as I said earlier... since I'm a fire demon, I'm more than willing to... pleasure women every once in a while," he said, his voice going low.

Chantelle was breathing in short gasps now, trying to control her bodies reaction to his touch with little success. His hands were very warm against her skin, and she couldn't help it as a little moan of pleasure escaped from her lips.

"You are a beautiful young woman." He breathed in deep through his nose as he was nuzzling her neck. She felt a smile come to his lips against her skin. "And you smell absolutely delightful... But I feel I should warn you about something, but don't take this at face value." He suddenly pulled away from her and came to stand before her. She was just as shocked at his sudden release as she had been when he had started giving her the hands on treatment. He smirked at her, seeing her flushed features and clearly hearing her heart hammering inside her ribcage. "I've known Suichi and Kurama for years. Now, Suichi is one who has the utmost respect for humans, since he is one himself. And although Kurama has gained some of that respect himself through his hosts influence..." He looked at her unwaveringly. "He might not care if you're a virgin or not. When Suichi told you that Kurama was very desirable to women and incredibly seductive, he wasn't kidding. I can tell that you like Suichi, and he likes you as well. But if Suichi LIKES you... then Kurama might very well be completely taken with you. If you two were to meet face to face, I can guarantee you... you would not be able to resist his charm."

She turned very red, thinking about Suichi and found herself trying to imagine what Youko Kurama looked like. A fox demon, she had been told. Would he have the ears of a fox? Maybe even a tail like Shippo from Inuyasha? "I guess... I'll just deal with it whenever I happen to meet him. I can't do much but wait and see what happens."

Hiei smirked as he looked at her. Then he held out his hand and helped her to her feet. "You should go back to bed. It's late and I noticed you're usually up early in the morning."

She nodded, her heart rate finally returning to normal and the flush in her cheeks leaving.

"Yeah. I guess I'll see you in the morning." She went to walk past him, but his hand caught hold of her left wrist.

"Wait just one minute." He stepped in front of her, a smirk that was a cross between mischevious and cruel on his face. "There's only one more thing I want to do, and after this I will leave you be."

Before she could ask what it was he wanted, his face closed the distance between them, and his lips pressed against her own. His arms went around her, one hand going to the small of her back, the other between her should blades and he pulled her right up against him. Chantelle let out a gasp of surprise at this action, and his tongue immediately entered her mouth and explored hungrily. The woman felt another surge of heat rush through her relentlessly, and before she knew it, she was kissing right back. His hands moved up and down her back, his crotch pressed right up against her own and gently grinded. They stayed like that for a moment before he pulled away, his crimson eyes meeting her own as a smirk came across his face. Her legs went out from beneath her, going completely numb. Hiei kept her from falling to the ground, and held her right up against him for a moment, his smirk going wider.

The woman was completely out of breath and begging the feeling in her legs to return to her. She now felt VERY hot and her lips were slightly swollen from the fire demon's administrations. Her feet slowly found purchase, and she somewhat shakily stood up once more. Hiei kept his hold on her, and his expression remained the same. He leaned forward and brought his mouth up by her ear.

"Was that anything like your first kiss?" he asked huskily, taking a second to nibble on her love, sending another shudder through her body.

She shook her head numbly. "Not even close... Justin was just royally outdone..."

He chuckled lightly and let his tongue whip out as he ran it across the side of her neck, immediately being rewarded with a moan of pleasure from the woman in his arms. Then he pulled away once more and looked at her. "You should head back now. Get some sleep."

She nodded, struggling to compose herself once more. Then she took in a deep breath and let it out. "Right." She started back for the trailer, and suddenly it didn't feel so warm after her experience with Hiei.

"Oh, and Chantelle..." The girl blinked and turned to him once more. He didn't make any moves to step closer to her. He just stood where he was, his face serious again, his arms now across his chest, and his crimson eyes squarely on her. "I would appreciate it if you didn't mention this to the others."

She gave him a small smile. "You got it. Goodnight, Hiei."

He simply grunted and gave her a nod.

Turning, she headed on her way once more.

She was more than a little surprised to run into Kurama as she rounded the corner to make her way inside.

He blinked, finding her. Then he gave her a friendly smile. "Hello, Chantelle. Where were you? Rinku woke up and found you missing, so he asked if I could find you."

She gave him a returning smile. "I just went for a walk. I was too hot in my room."

He nodded. "Yes, it is rather warm tonight. But you should go back to bed. You must be tired from all the work you did today and I don't want you to overexert yourself."

Chantelle nodded back. "I was just about." As she went by him to head up the front steps, she never noticed him stiffen slightly and his eyes narrow dangerously. She blinked, noticing that he wasn't following her. "Are you coming in?"

His smile was back on his face in an instant. "In just a few minutes. I think a walk would do me some good as well. You just go back to bed."

She smiled at him. "Alright. Goodnight."

He nodded. "Goodnight, Chantelle."

She went inside, not giving it a second thought.

Kurama stood out there for a moment and then slowly began to walk. He made his way over by the vegetable garden and stood there silently for a moment.

"I know you're there," he said, his voice low as he stood in the dim light of the stars.

Hiei stepped out of the shadows and looked at the Kitsune for a long moment. "We didn't get far. You know me better than that."  
The red head nodded. "You're right. I do. And I know it is only in your nature, considering you are a fire demon. However..." His gaze hardened as he looked at the fire apparation. "If you ever touch her in that manner again, you will face me in my strongest form."

Hiei smirked and crossed his arms. "I knew it. You do like her."

"That is not the point. It's bad enough that Kuwabara, Touya and Jin give her such attention. She is overwhelmed as it is without you doing the same thing."

The small demon shrugged. "I already told her that it was a one time thing. I have no intentions of touching her again."

Kurama nodded. "Good. See to it that you don't."

The fire demon let a cruel smirk come to his face. "Although, I must say... your feelings for her must be stronger than even I thought if you've gotten jealous over our encounter tonight. Is it possible that the great Youko Kurama might actually be falling in love with a mere human?"

He stiffened. "That, Hiei, is none of your business." He looked him square in the eyes. "I will overlook it this once, but just remember what I said. And my threat is not an idle one." He started back to the house. "Goodnight, Hiei."

Hiei stood where he was, watching the fox yokai as he made his way back to the house, his smirk still in place.

**Okay, there's chapter four!! Please read and review!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright, here's chapter five!! Please read and review!!**

**And I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho... only Chantelle**

After everyone had a nice breakfast of pancakes and buttered toast, Chantelle headed out to do her chores again. It was only slightly cooler today than it had been the day before. As usual, she had a shower the second she came back inside and sat down on the couch next to Jin with a sigh. "Man, I hope this heat wave stops soon..."

Jin shrugged. "Well, accordin' to th' weather report on th' news, it's supposed to be hot for the next few days, but I think I heard 'em say somethin' about a possible thunderstorm the day after tomorrow..."

She sighed in relief. "Good. At least THAT will cool things off."

Kuwabara suddenly blinked and looked out the living room window. "Um... someone's pulling in..."

Chantelle cursed and quickly joined him by the window, her mind frantically trying to come up with some kind of an explanation for her guests. However, when she saw the car as it pulled up beside the house, she let out a moan. "Oh... no. Not HIM..."

Kurama came up beside her and peered out along with her. There was a boy who looked to be around her age getting out of the car with sandy blonde hair and a muscle shirt. "Who is he?"

She let out an irritated sigh. "My ex-boyfriend. Just wait here. I'll get rid of him..."

The others watched as she put on a pair of shoes and made her way outside. The expression on her face told them she was not looking forward to this.

The rest of them came over to watch them through the living room window. Their hearing was good enough that they could hear every word clearly.

The boy grinned at her. "Hey, Chantelle! It's been a while. It's been what? A month?"

She had her arms crossed and looked at him cooly. "Not long enough for my tastes. What the hell are you doing here, Matt?"

He got a somewhat crushed expression on his face. "Aw, c'mon. Don't be like that. You and I really had something, ya know? I was thinking we could get back together."

She let out a harsh laugh and rolled her eyes. "I'm glad YOU think so. But I seem to recall things differently. First off, you started pressuring me for sex only a week after we met, then you break up with me three months into the relationship because you got Brittany Coles pregnant and had to take care of her, is what you said. What happened to that? Are you leaving a pregnant woman high and dry now?"

He frowned a little. "She decided to get an abortion, then her parents sent her to live with her grandparents over in Vancouver. Said they didn't trust me."

She snorted. "Funny how parents have more sense than their daughters, isn't it?"

"Hey! I'm not a bady guy!"

"You're not exactly a GOOD guy either! What kind of a man cheats on his girlfriend when they've only been going out for a few months? Not only that, but you got the other girl pregnant! About the only halfway decent thing you did, in my point of view, was admit what you did and left to try and help her. But I sure as hell am not going to go through with it again."

He stepped toward her, a frown coming to his face. "Ya know, I wouldn't have even needed to cheat on you if you had given me a few good lays..."

Yusuke, Kuwabara, Jin, Rinku and Chu clenched their fists and grounded their teeth together, haering this boy as he continued to talk. Kurama frowned deeply and both Hiei and Touya's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Chantelly stared at Matt for a few long seconds in total shock.

"WHAT?! YOU FUCKING PRICK!! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! GOD'S GIFT TO WOMEN?! DO YOU THINK WOMEN HAVE TO LAY ON THEIR BACKS JUST TO MAKE YOU HAPPY?!"

He smirked. "Well, you're the only one who didn't..."

She was trembling in rage. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY YARD!! GET OUT AND DON'T COME BACK!!!"

He grinned and stepped closer to her. "You know why I came down today?" His grin widened as he grabbed a hold of her wrist and tried to pull her against him. "Because I know you're here alone... and no one can hear you if you scream."

The men in the house stiffened seeing this, almost seething in rage now.

Chantelle managed to twist out of his grip and her hand lashed out slapping him hard across the face. "GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF ME!!!!!"

His expression was shocked for a oment, and then it turned enraged. "You little bitch..." He lunged at her without warning and got his hands around her throat, throwing her against the well house and lifting her small form off the ground. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!"

Chantelle's neck was held in an iron grip, her eyes were shut tightly and her mouth was opening and closing, trying to breathe. Her legs were kicking weakly beneath her as she felt her head start to go light, the blood flow to her brain being cut off by Matt's death grip.

Then, just as suddenly, she was released and she fell to the ground, gasping for breath and holding her sore throat. She felt someone's hands on her shoulder and she opened her eyes to find Kurama kneeling in front of her, his eyes looking at her in concern. Jin, Chu, Rinku, Yusuke and Kuwabara were right behind him.

"Chantelle! Are you all right?!" the kitsune asked.

She sighed in immense relief and nodded. "Yeah... But who...?" She looked past them and saw Hiei now had Matt by the neck with one hand, lifted up into the air. The look in his eyes promised a very painful death to the human in his hold.

The girl let out a cry of alarm. "HIEI!!! DON'T KILL HIM!!!"

His eyes met hers, and she felt a chill race down her spine at the murderous glint in them. "He threatened to rape you and just tried to kill you... and you still want me to let him live?" he asked, his voice low and holding a very real threat.

She got to her feet, still massaging her throat. "If there weren't going to be any consequences, then I'd be more than willing to let you do it! But if you kill him and the police come around here asking questions, it's only going to cause more problems! Just find a way to get rid of him!"

The fire demon scowled and then let the boy drop to the ground. Matt coughed and took in several lungful's of air. He tried to scramble back away from the little demon, but Touya stepped forward and the human suddenly found his lower body encased in ice. "We can't just let him leave after he saw us. There must be a way to ensure he's silent about our presence here."

Kurama nodded and stepped forward. He stood before the boy, who was both shivering from the sudden layer of ice he found himself encased in, and in total confusion and fear as to who these boys were. The fox demon pulled a seed out from one of his pockets and made it sprout in his hand... some sort of thorny vine. The vines snaked forward, the thorns imbedding themselves inside both of his temples.

"You will forget us," he said. "And you will NEVER speak to or come near this woman ever again. In fact, you will forget her as well. You WILL get in your car and leave immediately. Let it be known that should you ever set foot in this yard again, you will die by OUR hands." His eyes were cold as he regarded the man before him, and they had changed from green to golden. Chantelle was shocked at the cold expression on his face. "Now leave."

Touya smirked and the ice dissolved. The man got to his feet once more, his eyes blank as he climbed back into the car and drove off.

Kurama nodded. "He will forget all about us now." He looked at Chantelle. "And he will never bother you again."

She sighed in relief. "Thanks."

He gave her a gentle smile and nodded.

Chu looked at her. "How's your neck and back? He slammed ya pretty hard... at least as far as humans go..."

She waved it off. "I'll be fine. This isn't the first time a guy..." She stopped and quickly shut her mouth. "I'm going inside," she said quickly and reentered the house, catching only a glimpse of their faces as their eyes widened in surprise.

Yusuke frowned deeply. "Was... she about to say... what I think she was about to say?"

Hiei nodded, his headband off. He had a deep frown on his face. "Yes. She's been abused by boyfriends in the past. In fact... I think those are the kind of guys she seems to attract."

Kurama thought back and found that it did make sense. She always seemed to shy away when any of them made a pass at her, and the way she seemed so eager to please them... cooking, cleaning, mending their clothes, tending to their injuries, even letting them stay here in the first place... Was it possible that she was secretly terrified that they would harm her if she did otherwise? It was a very sad thought, but he knew it was a very real possibility. Looking around, he could see the others were thinking along the same lines.

Coming up with an idea, Kurama motioned for Rinku to come to him. He smiled at the little demon. "Rinku, she would find you to be the least threatening of all of us. Despite the fact that you ARE a powerful demon, you still look and act like a child. Perhaps you could go in there and reassure her."

The little demon blinked. "Do you think that's really a good idea? I mean, I don't like the fact that she might be afraid of us either, but... what if she didn't want us to know?"

Touya had his arms crossed. "It's a little late for that. I'm pretty sure from the expression I saw on her face that she's very much aware that we understood the implications behind her words. That's why she ran inside."

Rinku sighed. "Well... okay. I'll go talk to her then. But what are you guys gonna be doing?"

Kurama looked at his companions with a small smile. "I think we could use a small walk... to pass the time. Besides, I want to have a look at the countryside."

They all nodded as one.

So, Rinku went back inside as the others started of up toward the oil well in the back of the house. The little demon looked around the living room and kitchen area, seeing no sign of the girl. He looked down the hallway, and his sensitive ears caught a sound coming from inside her room. He hesitated for a moment, and then went to see her, knocking on her door.

The room went silent in an instant, and then he heard a slight rustle on the other side. The door opened a little and Chantelle blinked, seeing him standing there. She looked down the hall toward the kitchen. "Where are the others? Didn't they come in?"

Rinku smiled a little sheepishly and shook his head. "They figured that since you've been stuck with them for the last few days, you'd appreciate having a little time to yourself, so they went for a walk to check out the countryside."

She took in a deep breath. "What you really mean is... they caught the slip I made and are hoping that leaving me be for a few minutes might give me some time to calm down."

Rinku cringed and then looked at his feet. "Um... if you don't wanna talk about it, I could always just go..." he said in a small voice. He weasn't really nearly as sensitive as he was making himself out to be, but he wanted her to feel at ease around him.

She looked down at him in surprise. "Oh, Rinku..." She gave him a gentle smile. "You don't have to go anywhere. Come on in."

He nodded and entered the room, taking a seat beside her on the bed after she sat down. He looked up at her. "Are you sure you're okay? I mean your neck and back."

She nodded. "Yeah. I might get a little bruising, but it's nothing that's gonna need a doctor."

He was quiet for a moment, looking off ahead as he seemed to think for a moment. Then he looked up at her, his expression serious. "Ya know... just because some of us are demons, doesn't mean we'd ever hurt you. Hiei can SEEM scary sometimes, but he'd never hurt an innocent girl like you. He has his own personal honor code. Kurama is very kind and gentle, and even though he's a kinda two in one deal, he'd never do anything to bring you harm. Kuwabara and Yusuke are harmless... they've both got love interests back home. They'd crawl over red hot coals to protect a girl in danger. Chu's a drunk, but he's the fun sort of drunk who'd much rather spar with someone strong than hurt someone who can't defend themselves. Touya's an ice demon, and though he's seductive, he would never force any girl into anything. Jin's got a thing for you, but he's harmless. Just the kinda guy who likes to crack jokes and have fun. And as for me..." He blushed and rubbed the back of his haed. "Well... I'm just a kid... or at least I've got the body of one. I could like you as a MOM, maybe, but definitely not in THAT way. I like you too much to even think of hurting you."

Chantelle looked at him for a long minute and then sighed. "It's not that I think any of you will actually HURT me... It's just..." She shrugged and smiled a little sheepishly. "I guess it's just sort of a habit by now. I'm just the sort of person who likes to keep people happy. I'm eager to please, I guess you could say. I don't know if it's because of my past experiences with guys or what, but..." she shrugged. "It's just... me. And I guess strong guys just naturally make me... a little nervous."

Rinku seemed to think hard again for a moment, and then he looked up at her, a big smile on his face now. "Well, I promise you right now that I'LL always protect you!! I won't let anything happen to you!"

Chantelle looked at his smiling face before she turned red and smiled. "Damnit! How can someone be so absolutely adorable?!" She pulled him into a hug, his face resting right in her chest. "I don't care if you're older than my GRANDMA!! I have a weakness for anything cute, and you're definitely cute!"

The little demon smiled happily, his face pressed up against her impressive bust, as his hands wrapped around her to hold her back. It was times like this that made him wish he had the body of an adult. But he wouldn't reach PHYSICAL maturity for another hundred years... which royally sucked, but what could he do? Besides, looking like a kid DID have its advantages when it came to women.

Chantelle smiled wider as she held him close to her. "Thanks for cheering me up, Rinku. I appreciate it."

He grinned up at her. "Aw, it was nothin'!"

**Kay, I'm gonna leave chapter five off here!! Please tell me what you think! R&R!!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, chapter six is up!!**

**I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho!!**

The others came back a little over an hour later. Chantelle was still in her room, having some much needed time to herself, and Rinku had gone out into the living room and was watching TV when they walked in the door.

"How did it go?" Kurama asked.

Rinku grinned. "It went good! I had her laughing in no time! She says she's just the kind of person who likes to make people happy and that guys who are real strong make her a little nervous, but she's not actually AFRAID of us."

Kurama smiled. "That's good. I didn't want her to think we would ever do anything to hurt her."

Rinku nodded. "She knows that. She's just taking some time to herself in her room right now. I think she was getting ready to listen to some of her music when I left her alone."

Hiei nodded. "Then we should probably just leave her be for a little while longer. She's probably feeling a little crowded by now."

The others nodded, when her bedroom door suddenly opened and she came out, a smile on her face. They blinked when they saw her acting as though nothing had happened only an hour before. They could see a darkening around her neck where the man had gripped her.

"Hey, guys! Have a nice walk?"

Kurama nodded. "Yes. You have beautiful countryside. We saw a rather large animal while we were out. I believe I saw it travel brochures before, but I can't remember what it's called. It had enormous antlers and stood almost eight feet tall."

Her eyes went wide. "A MOOSE? You're kidding me!" She smiled. "Wow... we don't get too many of those out here. You guys must have lucked out." Then she looked at the clock and frowned a little. "Hmm... I'm feeling hungry, but I don't feel up to cooking tonight." She smiled at them. "Who wants to eat out? I know a great restaurant in Morinville. They serve great food and the prices aren't bad either. And they also serve ice cream cones."

Jin hesitated. "If yer sure ya don't mind treatin' us..."

She waved him off. "I don't mind. As I've said before, I've been looking for an excuse to spend some of that inheritance. I haven't even scratched the surface yet."

As they headed out to the van once more, Kuwabara frowned in the back seat and conversed with the others quietly. _Man, I feel real bad now. To think that a sweet girl like her was treated like shit by a bunch of scumbags. You'd think she'd be able to find a totally decent guy with her looks and that sweet personality. If I wasn't so caught on Yukina, I'd go for her myself..._

Touya nodded mentally. _But her personality may be part of the problem. To the men she attracts, she would seem easy to control. However, she has a fire in her as well. I certainly don't think she's afraid to stand up for herself, especially after the way she told off that boy earlier. The poor thing simply doesn't have the strength to back herself up._

Kurama sighed mentally. _Well, at least as long as we're with her, she knows she will be safe. And we got rid of her previous boyfriend, and he will never bother her again, so at least she has some comfort knowing that._

They reached the restaurant in only a half hour and were soon seated around two tables that had been pushed together. After a few minutes, they made their orders, trying not to overdo it for the poor waitresses benefit. She looked as if she was horrified at the amount of sudden customers she had as it was, and she seemed to be the only one on duty.

They engaged in light conversation as they waited for their orders to arrive and then they chowed down happily... all except for Touya and Hiei, of course, who only had some water. Then, when they were done eating, Chantelle bought them some ice cream cones, much to their delight. Once they were finished, she made a quick stop by the liquor store for Chu, buying him some hard liquor and another flat of beer, and then she filled the van with gas and they started for home again.

They spent the remainder of the day lounging around for the most part, until Chantelle decided she had best turn in for the night. It was going on one in the morning, and she took Rinku into her room once more and went to bed.

--------------------------------------

The next morning was the hottest day yet. It was almost forty degrees outside and Chantelle now wore her new bikini top with short shorts, attempting to stave off the stiffling haet. She was so NOT looking forward to taking care of the chores today.

She moaned and seated herself on the couch, fanning herself as best she could. "This is insane! I'm going to die of heatstroke..."

Touya looked at her for a moment, and then stepped up to her, being sure to keep his eyes from wandering to her chest, aware of the watchful eye of a certain kitsune. "Here. This should help." He placed a hand on either temple and she found her body coated with a thin layer of ice for a few seconds. Then it was gone and she sighed in almost delerious relief.

"Aaahhh... that... felt delicious..." she said with a small smile on her face.

Kuwabara glared at the Ice Master. "Hey, why not spread the love there, Touya? I'm dyin' over here too, ya know!" he said. Both he and Yusuke had their shirts off and were nursing some ice water that Chantelle had given them.

Jin looked at Chantelle. "Doesn't this place have an air conditioner or somethin' like that?"

She sighed. "This is CANADA. It hardly ever gets THIS hot out here. Most places in these parts don't have anything resembling air conditioning." She sighed and started fanning herself again. "I'd suggest going somewhere, but we'd roast in the vehicle. You could probably cook eggs on the hood of the car on a day like today..." Then she moaned and forced herself to get to her feet. "Well, I'm not looking forward to it, but I've got some chores to do. Maybe I'll take the hose and spray myself with water or something..."

Rinku grinned. "That sounds like a plan! Give me a dose of that!"

The only ones of them that weren't bare to the waist was Hiei, since he was a fire demon and not bothered by the heat, and Touya, who was an ice demon and could cool himself off easily.

Chantelle put together some cat food and a pitcher of fresh cold water for the kittens outside, threw on her sandals, and headed out, wanting to get this over and done with as quickly as she could. It was noon and she could almost see the moisture as it evaporated from the heat of the day, giving a mirage effect. She quickly made her way across the yard and sighed in relief as she was in the shade of the garage. She gave the kittens the food and water, watching all of them stick their faces into the water immediately. Not bothering to take the time to play with them today, she quickly made her way out to the garden and just turned on the hose, deciding the damn potato bugs and weeds could just do their thing today. The sun was insanely hot against her skin and she DID spray herself with the water, but was almost completely dry in a matter of minutes. She filled the watering can with water, and quickly took care of the flower garden and then went back inside, almost dying from the heat.

"Touya... could I please... get another dose of that ice?" she asked, her features flushed from the heat of the day, and her skin starting to turn red on her shoulders.

The ice demon smirked and came forward, doing his magic once more. Chantelle sat down once more, filled with relief.

Kurama, also bare from the waist up, peered out the window and blinked a few minutes later. "There is another vehicle pulling in," he said, a contemplative frown on his face.

Chantelle moaned and got to her feet and sauntered over to have a look for herself. Then her eyes went wide, seeing the blue Ford Aerostar van pull up in front of the house.

"FUCK!!!! IT'S MY SISTER!!!!!" she cried out in alarm. She grabbed Jin's hat and quickly had him put it on and made sure Hiei had his headband in place. "Okay... um... let me think... Alright!! Listen up, guys!!" She turned to them, her expression desperate. "From this moment on, as far as anyone is concerned, you guys are University students from Japan doing cultural studies and I'm letting you stay here as a favor to Professor Hopkins from the U of A! Chu, you're a professor, and Rinku, you're his son who both came along for the ride, all right?!"

They all nodded quickly. A moment later, there was a knock on the door and a pretty young woman stepped inside, a little girl who looked to be around six years old and a two year old right on her heels.

"Hi, Chantelle! God, is it hot enough for you today?" she asked, an expression of disbelief on her face.

She sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I almost died taking care of the garden."

Then the woman blinked, seeing all the men standing in the living room. "Um... who are they?"

Chantelle cleared her throat. "Laura, these are students from Kiyoto University in Japan who are in Canada doing cultural studies for the summer. Professor Hopkins asked if they could stay with me while he tries to find a more appropriate place for them. It could take a little while. This is Kurama, Yusuke, Touya, Jin, Kuwabara, and Hiei. Then this is Chu, a professor from Kiyoto University, and his son, Rinku. Guys, this is my sister, Laura, and two of her kids, Diana and Sarah. Brad, her husband, is just getting the baby, Conrad. He should be inside in just a minute.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, a man with curly dirty blonde hair stepped in, holding a car seat with a sleeping infant. The infant looked to be only a few months old. Chantelle quickly made the introductions for him again, knowing that chances were, they'd meet again. Then she looked at them.

"So, what made you guys jump into that deathtrap vehicle out there and come all the way out here?"

Laura hesitated for a moment, and then she sighed. "Um... we need a favor from you..."

Chantelle moaned, having a sinking sensation she already knew what her sister was going to ask her to do. "What is it this time?"

She took in a deep breath. "Um... I have to go into the city to get some... minor surgery... and there's no one else to watch the kids right now. Everyone's on vacation, so..."

The girl looked at her sister warily. "Minor... surgery? What for?"

Laura looked a little uncomfortable. "I'm pregnant again, and the doctor said I won't survive another childbirth, so I have to... get an... abortion," she said quietly.

Chantelle sighed helplessly and looked at Brad who was looking decidedly guilty. "You couldn't wait the six weeks after getting the vasectomy, could you?"

He rubbed the back of his head and grinned a little sheepishly. "I never thought she'd actually get PREGNANT..."

"Um..." Chantelle leaned toward her sister. "Does... SHE understand what's going on?" she asked, indicating Diana who was already smiling at Rinku and talking excitedly to him. The eyes of all the adult demons and two humans were on the two women and one man who were standing by the door.

Laura shook her head. "All we told her is that Mommy's sick and needs to see a special doctor for today. And that doctor is going to make me all better. We didn't want to upset her."

Chantelle sighed. "How long is this going to take?"

Laura looked at her, her expression serious. "Six hours AT THE MOST. I promise, there won't be a repeat of what happened with Kevin's birthday party."

A few months before, Laura had gone to her and Brad's friends birthday, promising to be back before ten at night. They wound up staying out until nine in the MORNING, leaving Chantelle to watch their kids for almost twenty straight hours.

Chantelle sighed and turned to her guests. She smiled a little sheepishly. "Um... you guys don't mind, do you?"

Kurama smiled at her gently. "Not at all. It would provide some entertainment at the very least. And besides that, I absolutely love children."

Laura leaned in close to her sister, not wanting to be overheard. "Um... those guys... they're... trustworthy, right?"

She nodded immediately. "Oh, yeah. They're good. You don't need to worry about them."

She nodded, and then looked at the clock on the wall. "Well, we had better get a move on. My appointment is in just over an hour." She looked at her sister seriously. "You remember the deal with Conrad, right?"

Chantelle smiled. "Of course. It's only slightly different for boys than girls. It's no problem."

"Alright. So long as you're sure. We should be back at around eight tonight. We'll try to be as quick as we can." She smiled at the guys and gave them a wave. "Nice meeting you guys! I'll see you later!"

They all nodded, except for Hiei and Touya, who just stood impassively off to the side with their arms crossed.

Then her sister and bother in law were gone.

Diana looked at her immediately. "Auntie? Can I play outside with Rinku?"

Chantelle stared at her in disbelief. "God, Kid! You actually WANT to go outside in THIS heat?"

She smiled sweetly and nodded.

Chantelle considered for a moment and then sighed. "Well, okay. BUT..." She pointed a finger at the two of them. "You're not going outside without sunscreen, a hat, and a bottle of ice water. I'm not going to let you burn or get heatstroke. The second that water's gone, I want you to come back in and get more."

The two of them nodded immediately. Chantelle nodded and got a hat for Diana since Rinku had one of his own. Then she sat them down one at a time and rubbed suntan lotion onto them. "Also, if you guys start to burn, come back inside. This kind of heat could cause some serious damage to your skin, and I don't want your mother to kill me when she comes to pick you up."

Diana nodded, her face serious. And then she smiled at Rinku as Chantelle handed the both of them a bottle of water. She looked at Rinku and Diana. "Okay, Diana. If you want to throw rocks, that's okay. But throw them DOWN the driveway or into the field. If I look outside and see you throwing any rocks in the direction of any of the buildings or the cars, you're in trouble, all right? Also, if you go to play with the kittens in the garage, play with them nicely. If you're rouch with them and one of them scratches you, I won't have too much sympathy for you because you should know how to handle kittens by now. And finally, we have oil well workers going up to the well on a daily basis. I want you guys to keep an eye out. Not everyone heeds the sign Dad put up in the middle of the driveway to tell them to drive slow, okay?"

Rinku grinned. "Don't worry! I can keep her safe!"

She sighed and nodded. "Okay. You two have fun." Then she blinked and turned once more. "Oh, and Rinku!"

The little demon looked at her. "Yeah?"

"Diana's alergic to bees and hornets. Try to keep them away from her, too. I could really go without having to make a trip to the hospital ourselves."

He nodded. "You got it!"

Then they headed outside.

Chantelle fixed up a bowl of ice cream for Sarah, who looked like she was cooking and was already curling up on Touya's lap, either instinctually knowing that he could keep her cool, or just liking him for some reason known only to her. Conrad was still in the car seat on the couch, sleeping somwhat peacefully, although his chubby cheeks were flushed from the heat of the day.

Kurama took the opportunity to take a cool moist cloth to give the sleeping infant some relief, a small smile on his face as he looked at the tiny form.

Sarah soon finished the ice cream and Chantelle put on a movie for her... The Lion King. She had wanted to watch Treehouse on TV, but Chantelle was too hot to put up with that kinda stuff. Her brain would leak out through her ears if she had to see the sort of things that were shown on that station. And she was pretty sure her guests wouldn't appreciate having to put up with it either.

Conrad woke up after a half hour, and Chantelle sighed, taking care of his diaper and putting together two bottles for him. One was just plain water, and the other was baby formula. The baby slammed the water back and then did the same to the food. But then the kid was obviously tired, but too hot and cranky to get to sleep, and nothing she tried would work.

Touya smirked and held his arms out. "Allow me. I think I know how to take care of this."

She shrugged and handed the infant over. After mere seconds passed, the child immediately quieted down and his eyes slid shut.

The ice demon gently laid the baby down on the couch once more. "There. That should do it."

Chantelle smiled at him. "Thanks." She took this opportunity to peek out the window and saw Diana playing happily with Rinku. He didn't seem to mind playing with her, and both of them were speaking to each other enthusiastically.

Moments later, they both came back in, their features flushed from the heat and holding up empty water bottles, politely asking for more.

After they had their refills, and Chantelle quickly checked them over to make sure they weren't burning, she let them go back outside.

A few hours after the children arrived, Sara seemed to take a liking to Hiei for some strange reason, and kept trying to latch herself onto his leg. He was at a total loss as to what he should do every time she did this, and caused much laughter from his companions.

Jin saved the fire demon on all occassions, scooping up the girl and grinning at her. She laughed in delight every time he did this and the game continued.

But just as Jin was scooping up the girl for the fourth time, and Hiei was considering going outside to get away from the awkward situation of the child latching herself to his leg, they heard the roar of a large truck outside, which was quickly followed by a terrified scream from Diana. Through the windows, they saw an enormous truck go roaring past, well over the specified speed limit her father had placed in the middle of the driveway.

Chantelle was out the door in the span of a heartbeat. "DIANA!!!" she cried, Yusuke, Hiei and Kurama on her heels.

She almost fell over in relief when she saw Rinku holding the child in his arms on the lawn. Obviously, he had just grabbed her and jumped out of the way. "She's okay! I've got her!"

Kurama checked the badly shaken girl over for a moemnt and nodded, confirming this for the girl. "She is alright. She doesn't have so much as a bruise on her." He gently scooped the terrified little girl into his arms. She clung to him like a lifeline and was crying into his shoulder, trembling like a leaf. "It's all right, little one. You're safe..."

Chantelle's relief was quickly replaced by rage. The others came out, Touya holding Conrad in his arms, and Chu holding Sarah. The woman's expression was flat. "That asshole... he didn't even STOP!!!" She held up a finger and started up to the oil well, not caring about the heat right now.

The oil well worker that had almost hit her niece and Rinku was in his forties and was currently just climbing out of his truck when Chantelle approached him. The man barely had time to notice her approaching and see the enraged expression on her face before she tore right into him.

The demons and children were off to the side, watching wide eyed at the colorful language and venemous tone to her voice as she dug intot he oil well worker, who was about twice her size. Kurama gently set Diana down and covered her ears, while Jin took Sarah from Chu and quickly did the same. The woman was fairly roaring with rage, and let out threat after threat, many of which had the demons themselves wincing, and some of which were physically impossible, but the man she spoke to was looking more and more horrified by the second.

"... and you can be FUCKING WELL SURE that I WILL be calling your boss and telling him about your total and utter disregard for traffic laws and the safety of children, you fucking asshole!! And I'm sure my sister will be calling your boss, too, and she's not NEARLY as nice as I am!! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

The man very meekly nodded. "Um... yes'm. I'm really, REALLY sorry about this, an' I promise I'll drive slow and keep my eyes open next time. Well... if there is a next time, I'll be way more careful..."

Her eyes were like a blaze. "Good. You had better." Then she turned, her expression still livid as she passed the demons and children. They quickly followed her back to the trailer.

Diana had definitely had enough of playing outside after her close encounter with the truck, but was now calmed down nicely due to Kurama's kind words and gentle smiles. Chantelle called the man's employer and told him in a carefully composed voice what had happened, and told him that she expected the matter to be dealt with and that he would most certainly be hearing from the little girl's mother as well.

The rest of the time passed calmly, for the most part. Diana eventually fell asleep on the couch, leaning up against Kurama, Sarah sleeping soundly on Touya's lap. Conrad briefly woke up, needing another feeding. Touya calmly moved Sarah and took the child after to get him to sleep again, setting him back down in the carseat.

Laura and Brad returned at seven thirty, Laura staying in the van while Brad just came in to grab the kids. He explained that the doctor had recommended she not move around too much, and that she was in some pain due to the procedure. Before leaving, Chantelle told him what had happened what had happened with the oil well worker and his expression went flat as he seemed to calmly accept the number of the man's employer. He let her know that the man would most definitely be hearing from Laura.

After he left, Chantelle quickly cleaned up the messes that the children had left behind, Kurama wordlessly giving her a hand.

She refilled the pitcher of ice water that was in the fridge and looked out at the thermometer, sighing in some small relief when she saw the temperature had dropped to 'only' thirty degrees.

By the time ten o'clock came around, it had cooled down to twenty-three degrees, much to everyone's relief.

She decided to have a nice cool shower before turning in for the night with Rinku.

The little boy curled up right beside her, both of them deciding that they could go without a blanket tonight.

**R&R please!!!!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's chapter seven!!**

**I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

The next day was still over thirty degrees, but the sky was darkened by threatening clouds as far as the eye could see. Chantelle was keeping a close watch on the TV and continually looking out the windows after she had taken the time to quickly feed and water the kittens, not bothering with watering the gardens since it was all too obvious that it was going to rain.

Chu looked at her as she made another trip to the kitchen window to keep an eye on the clouds. "What's up?"

She shook her head. "After the massive heatwave we've had, having a storm pop up like this is NOT a good thing. It may cool things off, but it could also cause tornadoes to develop. And if one of THOSE hits, we don't want to be in the trailer.

The rain started to fall outside in huge droplets as a caption warning those in the region of a severe thunderstorm warning started to run along the bottom of the screen.

After a few minutes of reading off the regions that were going to be affected (their area was smack in the middle of it all), suddenly the Emergency Broadcast System popped up on the screen. Chantelle immediately grabbed the remote and cranked the volume way up.

"This is Travis Potter at the Weather Detection Center. There is a series of regions experiencing rotation. If you are in the regions of Strathcona, Lac St. Anne, or the County of Barrhead, you are advised to take immediate cover. Three tornadoes have reportedly touched down in those regions and there is a very real possibility of more touchdowns..."

Chantelle swore and threw on her shoes, running out the door, the rain still falling in huge drops. She scanned the skies, the others all rushing out to join her.

"Look for any rotation in the skies! Look for clouds that are moving downward in a funnel shape! If you see one, point it out to me!"

After a few minutes of looking, Rinku blinked and pointed up and to their left. "Is that one?"  
Following his gaze, she saw a huge funnel cloud slowly snaking its way down. If it touched down, the base would be about a quarter mile wide.

Her face went white. "Come on... go back up... up... UP!!!!" The funnel continued with its downward spiral until it was all too clear that it was going to touch down in the field not far from the trailer. "SHIT!!! I've gotta get the van outta the garage before it hits!!" Chantelle started running forward before an enormous wind picked up, almost knocking her off her feet. Then she felt a large hailstone slam into her shoulder, and she gave out a cry of pain, only to feel another one land on the small of her back. She covered her head with her arms as an almost continuous barrage of hailstones fell down, trying to shield herself.

Someone suddenly grabbed her from behind and she found herself being helf close by Kurama, who immediately summoned up a plant to shield her from the onslaught of rain and hail. Vines immediately intertwined, forming a hollow cocoon around her now trembling form and they hardened to prevent the hail from coming through. Through the cocoon, she heard him shout.

"JIN!!! CAN YOU GET RID OF IT?!"

"It's a big bugger, but I should be able to dispell the wind! Everyone just stay behin' me!!"

She felt Kurama, still holding her beneath the cocoon of vines, leap backwards, and then she heard an enormous roar and several loud crashes. She just hoped to hell that it wasn't the trailer that was collapsing... because she knew something was. A few heartstopping seconds passed when she heard Jin give a loud cry and in that instant, the howling wind and torrential rain and hail seemed to come to a stop.

Chantelle was still trembling uncontrollably and held the front of Kurama's shirt in a death grip, her eyes screwed shut tightly, and she could feel her heart thrashing around in her ribcage. Kurama still had his arms around her protectively as he retracted the vines once more.

"Is she okay?" she heard Yusuke ask in concern.

"I think she'll be all right. She's just badly shaken from the experience. Just give her a few moments.

After a few moments of clinging to the yokai, she managed to get her heart rate under some semblance of control and looked up, seeing Kurama's green eyes looking down at her in concern. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then she slowly pulled away. "I'm... okay..." she said slowly, still trembling slightly. Kurama still kept a hold of her hand, knowing she was still unsteady and very shaken. "I'm almost afraid to look," she muttered. She rounded the corner to see what damage had been dealt to the yard.

The garden was absolutely destroyed, as well as the greenhouses and fences. Half of the old garage was collapsed, and debris was strewn everywhere. She was more than a little surprised to see that the oil well in the field hadn't been damaged, and that the van didn't look damaged from what she could see of it from its place in the old garage. Looking down at the ground, she also saw the gold ball sized hail that had bombarded her moments before. At least the trailer was still standing...

She sighed. "Well, this sucks. My parents are gonna freak when they hear about this..."

Kurama looked at her. "If you like, I could repair the garden..."

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it. My dad's gonna be more relieved just by the fact that I'm alive, never mind that half of the yard is completely trashed..."

"Someone's coming up the driveway," Touya said.

Chantelle saw the white truck coming up the driveway and nodded. "That looks like the Coup family... from across the road. They must have seen the tornado and are checking to see if I'm all right."

Sure enough, the truck stopped right by them, and a man in his late thirties stuck his head out the window.

"Chantelle! Are you okay?!" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm fine, Tod. How about Linda and the kids?"

He nodded. "We ran into the stom shelter when the broadcast came on. As we were running, we saw the tornado touch down in behind your house. That was a big bugger." He looked around her yard. "You've got tonnes of damage, but at least you're still alive. I knew you don't have a storm shelter or even a basement, so I thought I should make sure you're all right."

She nodded. "All I got was some bruises from the hail."

Tod looked around the yard again. "If I was you, I'd call up the oil company to check the well back there for damage. If there's a leak, your yard could be blown sky high. I'm sure you don't need that after all this."

She shrugged. "I don't even know if the phone lines are down or not..."

He handed her a cell phone. "Here. Use this. Just keep it for an hour or so and make whatever phone calls you need to. Call your parents and some repair crews if there's any damage to your house, okay? Just bring it back to me when you're finished with it."

Chantelle smiled, accepting the phone. "Sure thing. You should probably check your own yard for damage from the wind and hail. Not to mention your cows in the North Pasture are probably freaked from what happened."

He nodded once more. "Will do. If you need anything, you know where to find us."

"You got it. Thanks, Tod. I'll drop off your phone as soon as I'm finished with it."

He smiled, giving her a wave as he turned around and pulled out of the yard once more.

Hiei looked at her. "So, what's first on the agenda?"

She sighed. "Getting a better idea of the damage." She started for the other side of the trailer and saw that the living room and kitchen windows had been smashed in from the hail. She sighed. "Terrific." After giving the yard a quick looking over, she saw that the damage wasn't nearly as bad as she'd feared. She pursed her lips. "Alright... time for phone call number one... my parents." She took in a deep breath and started to dial.

Her mother picked up after the second ring. "Hullo?"

"Hi, Mom."

"Uh, oh. You're calling us. Who died?"

"Well, I came close a few minutes ago, but I'm alright now. We just got hit by a tornado."

An instant later, the girl was holding the phone a half foot away from her ear. "WHAT?! OH MY GOD!!! ARE YOU OKAY?! WHAT ABOUT THE CATS?! IS THE TRAILER STILL STANDING?! PAUL, CHANTELLE WAS JUST IN A TORNADO!!! WE HAVE TO GO BACK HOME!!!!"

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!!! Mom, calm down! I'm fine! Listen, the trailer's still standing. It's only got a couple of broken windows and maybe a few shingles missing. I'll have someone down to fix them up in no time. The old garage is half collapsed, the fences are all gone and the gardens royally fucked, but other than that, everything's fine."

"But still, we should probably turn back and check for ourselves..."

"NO!!! Mom, you and Dad have been saving up for this vacation for the last three years. I can handle things over here. I've got lots of money and I'm sure I can get some help cleaning up the mess and getting the repairs done. Everything's all right. You guys haven't even made it to Ottawa yet. Just enjoy yourselves. I only told you so you wouldn't have a heart attack when you come back next month and see that the garage isn't standing anymore."

Her mother relayed this information to her father, who then asked how the oil well was, expressing the same concern that Tod had.

"It doesn't look damaged to me, but I'm no expert, so I'll call up the oil company and have them come down to check it over for themselves."

"... Are you SURE you don't want us to come back? It really wouldn't be a problem..."

"I'm sure. I can handle everything over here, don't worry."

Her mother hesitated a moment longer. Then she caved in. "All right. But if you need ANYTHING, you give us a call."

"I will. Now you stop worrying about me and enjoy your vacation. You know what they say... tornadoes never hit in the same place twice, so I'm safe from here on out."

Her mother laughed a little weakly. "All right. I'll just get back to our vacation, then."

"You do that. You've been waiting for it for three years. Enjoy it. I'll talk with you later, okay?"

"Okay, hon. Bye, bye."

"Bye." She hung up and let out a sigh. "Well... that actually went better than I thought it would..."

Kurama looked at her. "I suppose the oil well is next?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I'll have to look in the phone book for that one..." They all headed back inside, except for Hiei who walked around outside assessing the damage for himself.

Chantelle was pleasantly surprised when she picked up the phone inside the house and found that it was still working. She set Tod's phone aside and looked up the number. Then she made the call and started flipping through the book to find someone to repair the broken windows. She called up one of her father's friends who was a retired handyman, and he happily agreed to fix up her windows for only a small sum of money.

Hiei came walking in a moment later, his expression serious. "You have another problem in the back yard."

Chantelle moaned. "Do I even want to know?" she asked as she stepped outside tot ake a look for herself. And she soon found out that it had been a tree that had fallen on the end half of the trailer. She was just thankful that it hadn't busted through the roof. "Wonerful," she said dryly. "How the hell are we gonna get THAT down?"

Kurama smiled and reached a hand up behind his ear and brought forth a rose. "Rose Whip!" he said, making a quick motion with his hand and a thorny vine protruded from the end of the rose. Then he made a few quick swipes and the tree fell apart as if they were neatly cut logs and landed on the ground.

"Your problem is solved," he said, a gentle smile on his face as he let his whip retract once more and placed it behind his ear.

Chantelle couldn't help but smile. "Why do I get the feeling that fixing up the yard's going to be easier than I thought?"

Chu grinned and placed a hand on her shoulder. "'Cuz you've got eight superstrong and powerful people here ta help you."

Kurama nodded. "It's the least we can do after everything you've been doing to help us."

Rinku grinned. "So let's start getting this place cleaned up!"

Yusuke looked at her. "It's your yard. What's first on the agenda?"

"Getting the van out of the garage. That building's unstable to begin with, though, so I'm just going to ask the oil well worker who's coming down if he can tow it out."

Jin's ears twitched a little. "And speaking of which, I think he's here. Someone's coming up the driveway."

Chantelle looked down the driveway and saw a white van pull up. "It's not the oil well worker, but it's the next best thing!" she said as she stepped forward. An older man with white hair and a portly stomach stepped out. "Hey, Harold! Thanks for coming on such short notice!"

He smiled at her pleasantly. "No problem! I owe your family a few favors."

She grinned. "Good. Then you won't mind if I ask you to tow the van outta the garge for me?"

He laughed. "Of course! I'll do that quick before I get started on your windows."

He got a chain out of the back and hooked up the rear of her van to his own, and then hauled it out. The rest of the garage collapsed as he pulled it out, the crash making the girl jump slightly. All the was left was the west wall. Chantelle climbed into the van and started it up, moving it out of the way so the oil well worker could get through with no problem.

Then when she got out once more, she quickly checked it over. Miracuously, it escaped with only a few scratches on the roof and hood, and one headlight was busted from the debris.

As she had been looking the van over for damage, Harold got started on the windows, Yusuke and Kuwabara helping him. And the oil well worker arrived, driving slowly through the yard to avoid the debris and made his way up to the oil well.

Chantelle looked at the yard with a critical eye. "I guess we should get rid of all this debris... pile it up where the garage's rubble is..."

Jin leaned in close to her. "If we wait 'til yer guests leave, I could make the job MUCH easier an' faster for ya..." he said, giving her a wink.

She smiled, remembering that Jin was a master of the wind. "I got it. We'll wait on that one, then." She looked up the road toward the oil well. "But we should get some of those posts and barbed wire out of the way for the oil worker right away. The last thing we need now is someone getting a flat tire."

The others nodded and started up the road, carefully removing the poles and barbed wire from the road. They saw a young man, only around twenty or so, carefully checking over the well and all the pipes and hoses that were up there. Once they were satisfied that the road was free of anything that could damage the tires of a vehicle, they headed back into the yard where Yusuke and Kuwabara were still helping Harold, holding the windows in place as he sealed them. He was finished by the time they got to where they were.

He took a cloth from his belt and wiped the sealer off his hands. "Well, thank you, boys! You sure took some time outta my work!"

Yusuke grinned at him. "No problem. We've gotta pull our weight around here."

Chantelle reached for her wallet and handed the man three hundred dollars. "Here. Consider the other hundred a tip for your expedient arrival."

He smiled happily as he accepted the money. "You're such a sweet little lady, Chantelle. If I were forty years younger, I'd go for you myself!" He nodded to her. "Well, I've gotta be headed out now. I promised Martha I'd bring her out for dinner tonight and she'll have my head on a silver platter if I don't make it back in time."

She smiled. "Okay. Thank you again."

He nodded. "Anytime." He climbed back into his truck, gave everyone a last wave, and pulled out.

Chantelle nodded. "All right. As soon as buddy up at the oil well pulls out, we're in the clear to make short work of the rest of the yard."

It didn't take long. The man stopped in the yard to talk to her out his truck window. "Well, I looked everything over for you. There was one broken valve and a cracked pipe that I repaired. Everything else looks like it's in perfect order, so you're in the clear."

She nodded. "Great! Thanks!"

He smiled and gave her a wink. "Not a problem. If I'd known a cutie like you lived here, I'd have come faster. I don't suppose you're available to go out to dinner later, are ya?"

She blinked slowly, at a loss for a second, when she heard eight men meaningfully clearing their throats behind her, and she could almost see them giving the man in the truck a glare. He confirmed this when his face paled, looking past her.

"Um... actually, now that I think about it, I should probably check the other wells in the area, and then report back to my boss, so I really don't have the time. Later, Miss!"

Chantelle sighed in relief. "Why do guys do that to me?" she muttered. She didn't expect anyone to respond for her question, but Touya did just for the hell of it.

"Because you're a totally hot woman. Now let's forget the idiot and get started cleaning this yard."

She fought off a blush and nodded. "Yeah. I guess the debris has to go first."

Jin grinned. "As I said earlier, just leave that to me! Just stand back and watch me do my thing!" He looked back at her. "Where would you like it all piled?"

She blinked. "Um... may as well put it with what's left of the garage. I'll call my Dad later and see what he thinks should be done with the debris."

He grinned broadly. "You got it! Step back folks! Tis about ta get windy once again!" He made a few quick motions with his hands and several whirlwinds picked up and pulled in the debris, forming a small tornado carrying it all. Then he motioned the tornado toward the garage and lifted his hand up. It dissipated and all the debris fell amongst the planks of wood that was the former garage.

He turned back to them, a grin on his face. "All done!"

These guys never fail to impress me, she found herself thinking. She felt a smile coming across her face. "Awesome! I'll call my dad tomorrow to see what he wants done with it." She looked up at the sky briefly and was relieved to see that the clouds were starting to break up.

Kurama looked at her. "Are you sure you don't want me to repair the garden for you? It really wouldn't be a problem..."

She shook her head. "I'm suer. Besides, how the hell would I explain THAT to my Dad? He was already told that the garden was trashed. I'll just give my mom and dad some money to buy some fresh vegetables from the farmers market in September. We can just work with those."

He nodded and let the matter drop.

They headed back inside and Chantelle started cleaning up the mess left by the rain and hail that had come through the broken windows. Kurama immediately joined to give her a hand, cleaning up the broken glass and trying to wipe away the water. That job wasn't difficult and they had everything cleaned up and in good order in a half hour. Then Chantelle decided to get started on cooking supper. It was a simple stew with chopped carrots, potatoes, peas, beans, and some beef chunks with some spices thrown in to add to the flavor. She quickly served the food to her guests and smiled at them.

"I'm just going to return Tod's cell phone. I'll be back in a few minutes."

When Chantelle came back, she found Kurama had taken it upon himself to start the dishes. She quickly ushered him away to complete the job for herself. As she was putting the last of the dishes away, she looked out the window and was surprised to see that it was dark already. Looking at the clock, she was further surprised to find that it was after ten.

She decided at that time that she could most definitely use a drink after the crazy day she'd had, and so she headed into the cold room and grabbed herself some coolers.

After she had three coolers and had her head swimming pleasantly from her alcohol intake, everyone started heading off to bed.

**Wow, these last two chapters were pretty long, weren't they? O.O**

**Anyway, if you like this story, please let me know!! R&R!!!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's chapter eight for you all!! Something shocking and unexpected happens here!! Find out what it is!! And Review everyone!! Please, PLEASE review!!!**

**I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Just Chantelle.**

The first thing Chantelle did the next morning was run to Tod's to see if he had any headlights that would fit the broken one on the van. After a little searching, he handed one to her. She headed back home and immediately started fixing the broken headlight. The temperature was perfect today, and Chantelle hoped it stayed that way. Upon reexamining the garden earlier that day, she had discovered that some of the plants seemed to be pulling through... something that she breathed a slight sigh of relief over.

Jin came up to her, smiling pleasantly as she was finishing setting the cover. "I didn't know you were mechanically inclined..."

She snorted. "I'm not. I can only do three thigns... change the oil, change a flat, and change a broken headlight. Other than that, I'm screwed."

He grinned. "Well, I just came by to ask if ya would like ta go for a walk on this beautiful and pleasant day."

She smiled back at him. "Sure. I'm finished here. Just let me put these tools away."

She quickly placed the screwdriver back into the box and checked things over to make sure they were in good order. Then she wiped off her hands and she and Jin started up towards the oil well.

He took in a deep breath. "Ah, you've got to admit... that rain certainly made the air smell wonderful."

She nodded. "That's one of the reasons I don't want to move to the city... there's no such thing as fresh air."

He nodded. "I've noticed that."

"I've noticed something, too... something that kinda gives me the creeps."

He blinked and looked at her. "What's that?"

"Well, if you guys hadn't shown up when you did... I'd definitely be dead by now. And the yard would be flattened. First you guys saved me from Matt, then Rinku saved Diana from that oil well worker, and then just yesterday, you saved our yard. I can't help but be a little weirded out by the timing of it all. I mean... I've lived out here for my whole life and we've never had problems like those before. I've stayed at home by myself for weeks at a time and I haven't experienced anything other than boredom."

Jin thought about that for a moment. "Hearin' it like that, it almost sounds like someone's got it in for ya, doesn't it?" He grinned. "But don't you be worrying your pretty head. We'll keep ya safe."

She smiled. "It IS really comforting to have you guys here... not to mention great for entertainment."

His grin widened. "We aim ta please! Especially when it comes to the ladies!" He gave her a flirtatious wink.

She laughed at this, but in the next instant, Jin stopped in his tracks and his eyes widened slightly. She blinked and looked at him. "Jin? What's wrong?"

"Stay close! I suddenly sense a powerful demonic aura! And it's NOT from anyone that's here!"

Her eyes went wide. "If it's not from anyone that's HERE, then who's it coming from?!"

Her question was answered an instant later when a high pitched whine filled the air and flashes of light erupted in the sky. A dark purple hole opened up in the sky and five figures dropped out.

Jin's eyes went huge. "It's... TEAM BONKOTSU!!!"

A tall and handsom demon smirked at the two of them. "Well... I believe it's Jin the Wind Master, is it not? And what's this? A beautiful mortal woman. I believe we could get a fair amount of money for her if we sold her on the Demon Black Market..."

Chantelle's eyes went huge. "WHAT?!!!"

Jin looked at her. "Chantelle!! Run!! I'll try ta hold 'em off for ya!!! Go now!!!"

She didn't need to be told twice as cold fear tore through her. She turned and shot away as quickly as her legs would go as she heard the beginnings of a battle erupt behind her.

"And where do you think you're going?" asked a voice as she was suddenly grabbed from behind. She suddenly found herself face to face with a green haired demon with several horns sticking out of his head and pointed ears. Acting purely on instinct, she let out the loudest ear piercing scream she could and kicked him as hard as she could right in the groin.

He cried out in pain and released her immediately. She jumped to her feet and shot off once more.

"YOU BITCH!!! I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT!!!" she heard the enraged cry from behind her.

She risked a glance back just as she was passing the remains of the fence and saw a bright globe of light shooting right at her. She let out another scream as it barely missed her, striking the ground right behind her feet and she was sent flying. She caught the barest glimpse of the others come racing out of the house before she slammed through the west wall of the garage... the only part left standing, and then slammed into the side of her car, denting in the door and causing it to move sideways on its tires a few feet. She slumped down to the ground and didn't move.

The rest of Team Urameshi saw this and cried out in alarm, Kurama racing toward her immediately as Hiei, Rinku, Touya, Kuwabara and Chu jumped into the battle. Yusuke stood off to the side, ready to assist the others in the fight if he should be needed, but also watching Kurama's back.

Kurama was immensely relieved when he found she was still alive. She was in very bad condition, but she still lived. She had seven broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a cracked hip, and a gash on her head, along with countless other cuts and bruises. His relief was replaced by cold rage an instant later.

The fighting stopped the instant they all sensed an enormous surge of power. Looking over, they saw an enormous dust cloud where Kurama had been knelt by the young woman. When the cloud settled they saw that Suichi Minamino had transformed himself into Youko Kurama. He held the limp form of the woman in his arms and his expression was deadly calm.

"Bringing deliberate harm to an innocent who is not even able to defend herself... is something I no longer stand for," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "By attacking this woman, you have incurred my wrath." He walked up to Yusuke. "Take care of her," Kurama said, as the boy very gently took her into his arms.

"I will."

The fight erupted once more, only this time with Kurama using his plants to aid the others. Two of Bonkotsu's men were killed in the first few minutes. Yusuke saw a ball of dark energy coming toward him, so he had no choice but to dodge rather than try to deflect it while he held the girl in his arms. The ball of energy slammed into the trailer and half of it immediately blew away.

The Spirit Detective winced. "It's a damn good thing she's not conscious to see THAT," he muttered, knowing she would have had a total coronary... not that he'd be able to blame her.

As he tried to get himself and his charge to a safer location, he saw a blast of energy headed straight for the oil well. Not wanting to see the resulting explosion that would occur if it struck, he had no choice but to quickly set the girl down on the soft grass and used his Spirit Gun to deflect the blast into another direction. It slammed into the old garage, completely anhialating it in an instant. He quickly shielded Chantelle from the debris that went flying in all directions.

Bonkotsu's otehr two men went down in that instant, and he decided that he'd had enough. Lifting his arms into the air, he reopened the portal. This one had a vaccuum effect, and everyone was helpless in its hold as it pulled them into it.

When they got up once more, they were both surprised and relieved to see that they were where they had been fighting Bonkotsu and his gang in the first place... an underground cavern located in Demon World. At least they were back where they belonged.

Kurama, still in his full demon form, took advantage of Bonkotsu's own disorientation and unleashed his Vampire Plant, which immediately imbedded itself in the other demons chest and sucked the life blood out of him.

Yusuke sighed in relief. "Well, I'm glad THAT's all over. I just hope that Chantelle's going to be okay."

Hiei crossed his arms after he put his sword away. "Hn. I think she'll be fine. Her neighbors must have seen all the explosions and are probably taking her to the hospital right now. I wonder how she'll explain what happened."

In that instant, another person entered the room, a blue haired woman that they were all very much familiar with. Yusuke smiled immediately. "Hey, Botan!"

The woman sighed in huge relief. "Thank Goodness! Koenma almost had a complete spaz when you guys were sucked into the portal! It's a good thing Bonkotsu decided to try finishing you guys off and returned you here. What the hell happened? Where did he send you?"

Kurama reverted back into Suichi's form and smiled at her. "To another Earth. We'll explain everything later, but I think I speak for us all when I say we could all use a good rest. Do you suppose you could transport us to Koenma's palace?"

She nodded. "Sure thing!" Then she blinked, looking past them. "Um... guys? Who's she?" she asked, pointing past them.

The eight of them stiffened and whirled as one to see where she pointed. Lying sprawled out on the ground, almost concealed in the shadows, was Chantelle, still unconscious and breathing shallowly.

Yusuke's eyes went huge. "Oh... no... She... came through the portal with us!!"

Kuwabara was staring in horror as well. "Bonkotsu's dead now... so that means..."

Hiei's own eyes were wide. "She's trapped here..."

Kurama's eyes were huge and he appeared to be in a state of shock. He could do nothing but stare at where the young woman was lying.

Jin approached her and gently scooped her up. "There's nothin' we can do about it for now! Right now, she needs ta get healed!"

Botan blinked. "But... who is she??"  
Kuwabara looked at her. " A friend who helped us. She lived in the other dimension. We'll explain everything when we get back to the palace, but Jin's right. She needs some healing action."

The ferrywoman nodded and transported them all to the palace.

**Okay!! There ya have chapter eight!! R&R everyone!! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's chapter nine! (Sorry the last chapter was short, but this one should be longer!!)**

**We all know that I do NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho... just Chantelle.**

Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei were surprised to see Keiko, Shizuru and Yukina at the palace as well, talking with Koenma. The second they saw the fighters enter the room, Keiko flung herself at Yusuke, Shizuru started beating on Kuwabara, and Yukina, who had been about to greet Kuwabara, instead stood off to the side with an awkward smile and waited for his sister to stop beating on him.

"Yusuke!! I thought I'd never see you again!!"

"KAZUMA!! DON'T YOU EVER SCARE YOUR SISTER LIKE THAT AGAIN!!!!!"

Koenma seemed deeply relieved to see them again. "Well, you guys gave everyone here a scare... Although I am most definitely looking forward to hearing your report." He looked around. "Where's Jin?"

Yusuke took a deep breath. "He took a friend of ours to the medical ward of the palace."

The infant blinked. "A friend?"

Kuwabara nodded. "Yeah. We met her in the dimension that Bonkotsu trapped us in. When he and his good squad came to her dimension to try and finish us off, she got hurt bad. Then when he opened the portal again, she got dragged back with us. We didn't even notice until it was too late and Bonkotsu was dead."

Koenma frowned, deep in thought. "Please tell me everything that happened from the time you got pulled into the portal in the first place. Leave nothing out."

Yusuke and the others did as he asked. The telling of it all took over an hour.

When they were done, Yukina's hands were over her mouth. "Oh, that poor girl! I should go help the healers!" She quickly raced out of the room.

Koenma's expression was now concerned. "She'll be devestated when she finds out..."

Rinku nodded. "Yeah. She's going to be freaked when she first wakes up, though. She wasn't even awake to experience the portal for herself."

Keiko looked at them. "Isn't there something that can be done to help her? To get her back?"

Koenma sighed as he looked at her. "Bonkotsu was the Dimensional Specialist of the Otherworld, Keiko. Although there are other demons who possess the ability to create portals, they have no control over where those portals will bring their victims... unlike Bonkotsu himself, who could consciously hone in on a particular dimension and create a portal linking to it. People with that ability only come around once every five hundred years. Without somone with that ability, there is no possible way to return her to her own realm. She's stuck here... whether any of us like it or not."

In that instant, Koenma's right hand ogre, George, came running into the room. "Koenma, sir!! She's waking up now!!"

Yusuke frowned. "We'd better get over there. She's liable to freak out when she wakes up and has no idea where the hell she is."

Nodding, the others all followed George, except for Koenma and Kurama. The toddler looked at the kitsune. "Kurama? Aren't you going with them?"

The boy looked at him and shook his head, his expression filled with regret. "I can't face her. Not after what I've done to her." Then he turned and walked out of the room without another word.

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The moment Chantelle woke up, she started to panic when she didn't see the familiar sight of her bedroom, and her panic increased all the more when she remembered what had happened. She sat bolt upright, not even taking the time to wonder how come she didn't feel any pain, and hardly even noticed the young woman with the green-blue hair and red eyes at her side who jumped in alarm at her sudden movement. "Oh, GOD!! Where am I?!"

Before she could have a total panic attack, Jin was in front of her, his eyes concerned as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Chantelle! It's all right. You're safe."

She felt great relief when she saw a familiar face. "Jin! What's going on? Where are we?"

He got a strained expression on his face as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well... that's... going to be... hard to explain. You see... um..."

Jin was temporarily saved when they heard running footsteps and the others entered the room with the girls.

"Chantelle, are you okay?!" asked Kuwabara.

She blinked. "Physically, yeah, I'm fine. But where the hell are we? What's going on, you guys?"

They all stopped and a few looks were exchanged. Yusuke rubbed the back of his head. "Okay... who wants to take this one?"

Hiei decided they may as well get it over and done with. "You're in the Spirit World," he said simply.

She blinked slowly as she looked at him. "Spirit... World...?"

Yusuke took in a deep breath. "You're in our dimension now... in our boss's palace. You were hurt badly by Bonkotsu's goons, so you were unconscious when this happened, but... Bonkotsu opened the portal again, and tried to escape back to the Demon World. We all got sucked into the portal with him. We... didn't notice that you were with us... until Bonkotsu had already been killed. We brought you back here to get healed."

Chantelle looked from one face to the other. "But... I can get back home, right? RIGHT?" Her heart started hammering in her chest when she saw the strained expressions on ther faces. "Guys?" She stepped off of the bed. "Someone answer me! Can I get back to my dimension or not?!"

Another voice stepped in at this point, seeming to pick up on the hint that the others weren't sure how to break the news to the girl. "I'm sorry. But since Bonkotsu is dead, the only method of returning you to your own world died with him. He was the Dimensional Specialist of the Otherworld. Now that he's gone... I'm afraid you're trapped here."

Chantelle didn't see who it was that had spoken, for the second she heard those words, the world wavered in her sight and her legs went out from beneath her. Jin caught her before she crashed into the floor and immediately held her as she just started to cry.

Yusuke glowered at the floating toddler who had entered the room. "You know, you could have tried breaking it to her just a little more gently than that, Pacifier Breath!!"

Koenma returned the look. "If you can think of a way to break news like that to someone gently, then I'll apologize for my bluntness. But no amount of sweet talking was going to change the fact of her situation, and you know it, Yusuke."

The boy didn't know what to say in response to this and had to grudgingly admit that Koenma was right. There was no easy way to tell someone that they'd pretty much lost everything. He turned his attention back to the girl who was still being held in the arms of the Wind Demon as she continued to sob. Jin ran his hands up and down her back as soothingly as he could and hushed her gently.

After a few long minutes, her sobs slowly tapered off into shudders and that's when Koenma floated down to her level. "We'll try to make things as easy for you as we can. You can stay here in my palace until we have found a way to integrate you into society... and more importantly, until we have given you a chance to learn about the human world in THIS dimension."

She slowly pulled away from Jin and looked to see where the voice had come from. Her eyes widened when she saw the floating baby looking back at her. "Um... did you just talk?"

Jin struggled to keep from laughing. "This little guy is Koenma... our boss."

She stared, her grief forgotten for a few seconds. "You guys get your assignments from a floating, talking baby?"

Said baby fumed slightly. "I'll have you know that my father is King Enma! I run the Spirit World while he's gone! I'm older than your GRANDMOTHER and..." He sighed resignedly when he saw her blank expression. "Oh, all right! I should be used to no one respecting me in my natural form..." There was a puff of smoke and the toddler transformed into a handsom young man, with a pacifier still in his mouth.

The suddeness of his transformation caused Jin to have an armful of Chantelle again. Her eyes were enormous. "He was... I mean... how did he...? He's big now!!!!"

Yusuke grinned. "You learn not to question it."

Koenma regained his composure. "Now, as I was saying. You can remain here until you have adjusted and we have arranged accomodations for you on Earth. In the meantime, my assistant, George, will show you to a room where you can get some more rest."

Her expression turned all the more perplexed as a blue ogre with a horn sticking out among corn yellow hair stepped up to her. "Are you ready to head to your room now? Or do you need a few more minutes?"

She blinked slowly for a few seconds and then shook off her shock. "Oh... um... I'm... I'm good... to go now..."

He nodded as Jin helped her to her feet once more. She was just slightly shaky, but it was the shock of it all that was keeping her from having another breakdown. She didn't even realize until she was in her room that Kurama hadn't been with the others.

Then she noticed that she was alone. She tried to shake off the light headedness that had suddenly taken over her and tried to focus on her surroundings. The room she was in now was very extravagent, but she guessed she shouldn't be surprised considering where she was now... some Otherworld Palace. There was a large four poster bed bed with a canopy, silk sheets, and a beautiful light blue comforter. There was a large dresser with an ornate mirror sitting to one side off the room, a door leading out to a large balcony, a table with several beautifully carved chairs sitting in the middle of the room, and a bedstand with a lamp. Beneath her feet was a flufly rug, which was laid overtop of a marble floor. A very large and beautiful bedroom. The entire room was about the size of her trailer back home.

She could only stand there and stare off into space for a few minutes, her mind gone completely numb. Then an image slowly came into her mind's eye... of her family and friends that were back in her world. The guys had been fighting that Bonkotsu guy and his men... was there anything left of the yard? Were the neighbors looking for her right now? Someone must have seen or heard something, so it was probably safe to say that they knew she was missing by now. Then again, if something had gotten blown up, they might not think she was simply missing, so much as dead.

That thought was too much for her to bear. Her legs threatened to turn to jelly beneath her once more and she quickly made her way over to the bed. She flopped down and the crying started all over again.

Once she started, it just didn't seem like it was going to stop. She sobbed for what felt like hours, her mind flooded with memories of her world, of her family and friends.

She was surprised when she felt a hand slowly settle on her shoulder. Had someone knocked? With the way she'd been crying, she never would have heard it anyway. Looking up, she saw Touya looking down at her, his normally icy eyes and expressionless face showing sympathy.

Chantelle didn't hesitate for a second. Before the Ice Master knew what was happening, he had the girl in his arms and crying into his chest. Unaccustomed to this sort of thing, he had stiffened slightly before he relaxed and held her close, his chin settling on the top of her head. Then he slowly started to run his hands up and down her back for several long moments until her sobs started to taper off.

He started to speak. "The others thought you would appreciate some time to yourself, but I thought otherwise. I can see that my instincts were correct."

She slowly pulled away from him and looked up. She couldn't bring herself to give him even the smallest thanking smile. "Thank you, Touya."

He nodded, one hand coming up to brush the tears from her cheeks. "Don't mention it. You were there for all of us when we were trapped in your dimension, so we'll return the favor now that you're here. All of us will." He gently laid her down on the bed. "You should get some sleep. You look totally drained and you've had a hell of a shitty day."

She hesitated, and then managed a weak nod.

She layed down on her side and felt Touya place his hand on her shoulder and start to rub gently. He was seated on the edge of her bed, and she could almost feel his eyes as they looked at her. The motion of his hand did help to relax her, and she was very much grateful that he was there. She didn't want to be alone right now.

It took several long moments, but she eventually fell asleep, Touya staying with her until the time came. Then he got to his feet, his expression icy once more as he looked down at her sleeping form, and he quietly left the room.

**Okay, there's Chapter nine!! Please R&R everyone!!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here's Chapter Ten!! Please Read and Review!!**

**For the hundredth time, I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho... just Chantelle.**

Chantelle was suddenly aware that someone was knocking on her door. She blearily opened her eyes and was wide awake in an instant upon seeing the unfamiliar surroundings before the events of the day before flashed through her mind. She almost felt like screaming and crying again, but gritted her teeth and blinked rapidly to hold the tears at bay. When the knock came again, she quickly cleared her throat.

"Come in..." she said, her voice sounding a little strained, despite her best efforts.

A pretty young woman with blue hair and dressed in a kimono came into the room. She smiled at Chantelle pleasantly. "Well, good morning! Did you sleep well last night, Chantelle?"

She blinked. "Um... I guess... considering my circumstances... yeah..."

The woman smiled wider. "That's great to hear! My name is Botan, the Ferrywoman to the Otherworld. You would probably know me better as being known as the Grim Reaper, or did you even have Grim Reapers in your dimension?"

She blinked slowly again and nodded. This woman was a grim reaper? Seemed a little too chipper for someone who hung out with dead people all the time.

"Well, Koenma asked me to bring you on a tour of the palace this morning, after you've gotten cleaned up and dressed, of course." She handed her a bundle of clothing. "These should fit you perfectly. After you've had your tour, we can grab a bite to eat for breakfast. How does that sound?"

Chantelle was a little at a loss, so she just nodded silently and slowly accepted the prooffered clothes. She wasn't much in a smiling mood this morning, and the fact that this woman seemed to be able to smile so easily actually irked her a little.

Botan seemed to be completely oblivious to her discomfort. "Well, let's get a move on, then! I'll show you to the washroom, and then we can get that tour underway! Just follow me!"

Chantelle climbed out of the bed a little dumbfoundedly. She actually would have preferred to spend her morning alone, but she wasn't about to point that out. Just because she was feeling shitty as all hell this morning didn't mean she had to dump it on someone else just because they were happy.

She was lead to a large lavish bathroom with a tub that could be best described as being a small pool or hot tub, filled with potpourri and fragrant incense, as well as lotions and body cleansers. Botan left her in private where she stripped and climbed into the already filled tub. The bath didn't do much to make her feel better... just cleaner and a little more fragrant. She toweled off with a large fluffy towel, thinking she now knew how the Queen of England felt when she woke up every morning... only without the depression.

She then took the time to examine the clothes that Botan had given her and fought off a frown when she saw a light blue kimono... basically a dress. She looked at her old clothes, which were dirty and torn in a half dozen places and sighed. Well, there was no helping it. She didn't like dresses, but right now she had no right to complain. She quickly got dressed and then stepped out of the washroom to find her guide was waiting for her.

"You all set for that tour now?" she asked as cheery as ever. Before Chantelle could even think of a response, the girl had started the other way and continued on chatting. Shaking her head a little dubiously, she suppressed a sigh and followed.

She tried to pay attention to what Botan was saying, but she couldn't really focus. It wasn't like she'd actually remember everything the girl was saying anyway. The palace was absolutely huge. She was shown several dining halls, offices (including Koenma's, where the infant was busily looking through stacks of paper and stamping them, looking rather irritated at his workload), banquet halls and lobbies. Then the reaper lead Chantelle outside of the palace and into the courtyard... which was absolutely beautiful, filled with gardens and carefully trimmed trees, and some beautiful clear water pools. Even seeing all this couldn't bring a smile to her face, though.

"Chantelle?" Botan said loudly.

She blinked and looked at the girl. "Yeah?"

"We're finished the tour. I just asked if you'd like something to eat now."

She hesitated and then slowly shook her head. "I... don't think I'm really hungry right now..."

Botan looked at her in some concern, the smile leaving her face for the first time. "You should try to eat something. You need to keep your strength up. Besides, the food served here is the best you'll ever come across!"

Chantelle sighed, not bother to try suppressing it. "I guess..."

She smiled broadly and took her by the hand. "Great! Just follow me!"

She was lead to a dining hall, the table filled with food from one end to the other. There was one place set for her, and she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. I sure as hell hope they don't expect me to eat all of that, she thought.

Chantelle just took some of the stuff that she thought looked good, which more or less she was familiar with, and then sat herself down and tried to eat. She took a few nibbles. Although she was sure the food must be absolutely delicious, she found she wasn't able to taste it. Her stomach felt more knotted than anything else, and she just couldn't get down more than those few nibbles that she'd had. She sighed inwardly. Where was a dog when you needed one?

Finally, after trying unsuccessfully for a few moments, she put down her fork with a sigh. "I'm sorry, but I just can't eat," she said quietly, not looking up.

If she had cared to look up, she would have seen Botan's expression turn very concerned. "Oh... well, in that case, would you like me to bring you back to your room?"

She nodded. "Please."

So Botan lead Chantelle through the halls once more and they both entered her room. This time, however, there were several stacks of books on the table... thick books.

Botan smiled once more. "Oh, it looks like Koenma sent you some books on the history of Earth in this dimension! I guess you'll have something to do to pass the time!" Then she turned happily to her still expressionless companion. "Is there anything you'd like before I go?"

Chantelle just shook her head.

Botan's expression turned a little concerned again. "Oh... alright. I'll just leave you be, then. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Just ask anyone outside your room and they'll get you whatever you might need, okay?"

She nodded.

"All right. I'll see you later then!" Then she was out the door and gone.

Chantelle stood where she was for a few moments and then slowly made her way over to the table. She selected a book at random and settled down on her newly made bed and tried to read.

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In the throne room about a half hour later, Botan was reporting to Koenma and to seven of the Spirit Detectives how the tour had gone.

Needless to say, she was very concerned.

"She hardly touched her food, barely said a word, and I never saw her smile once! It was like she was walking around in a complete daze!"

Yusuke had his hands behind his head. "What do you expect? She just lost everything and everyone she knew, Botan. Of course she's going to be a little depressed for a while."

The girl looked at him. "A little? I've seen DEAD people more exuberant than she was! I don't think she even heard half of what I said!"

Jin sighed. "We'll just have ta pay her a visit, then. We're the ones she knows the best around here, and I think that's what the poor girl needs... familiarity."

Kuwabara looked around. "Hey... where's Kurama? Shouldn't he be here, too?"

Hiei crossed his arms. "He's blaming himself for what happened to her. He's decided it would be best if she not come into contact with him."

Chu blinked. "Tha's weird... I thought she liked him th' best outta all of us, from the way they was always hanging aroun' an' talkin'..."

Hiei shrugged. "That may be, but keep in mind that he WAS the one who killed Bonkotsu. He thinks because of that she'll blame him for what happened. For her being stuck here."

Koenma sighed. "Just do what you can to make her feel better. There's not much else that we can do. I'll have to drop in on her myself later to ask her a few questions to help us integrate her into society. We can't just throw her out there without the proper identification... and it's only fair to find out how much money she had in the first place so we can replace it."

Jin grinned. "Well, that's one that'll have ya shittin' green apples. She had over ten million dollars to her name."

The baby almost fell out of his chair. "TEN MILLION?! At HER age?!"

Kuwabara nodded. "Yup. She said she inherited it from her great aunt or somethin' like that. She was spending it on us left and right."

Koenma sighed. "All right, I guess it's only fair. I'll make the proper arrangements in that end in a few days. There's no rush. After all, she still needs time to properly adjust." He turned to George. "Did you send those books to her room?"

He nodded. "Yes, sir. I set them right on her table."

-----------------------------------------

Yusuke and the others went to visit with her shortly after Koenma sent them on their way. The girl was only able to get the scant trace of a smile on her face when she saw them and they started with their usual antics.

That all stopped when she asked a question that had been weighing on her mind.

"Where's Kurama? I haven't seen him since I got here."

All antics and laughter stopped, and several wary looks were exchanged.

Her eyes went huge. "Oh, GOD! Don't tell me that he..."

Jin was there in an instant. "Oh, nonononononono!!! He's perfectly fine. It's just that... well... Now how do I say this?"

Never one to use tact, Hiei was the one who told her. "He was the one who killed Bonkotsu and he's blaming himself for your being trapped here. He seems to think that it would be best if he didn't have contact with you."

The second the words were out of his mouth, Kuwabara smacked the fire demon upside the head, his expression livid. "COULD YOU TRY USING SOME TACT, YOU FUCKING IDIOT?!"

Hiei gritted his teeth together as he resisted the urge to run the human through with his word. "If you had an easier way to tell her, than you should have done so!"

Chantelle's expression turned a little downcast. "Oh... I see."

It wasn't knowing that Kurama had been the one to kill Bonkotsu that bothered her. It was the fact that Kurama was feeling guilty for her being stuck here now, and because of that guilt, he felt it would be best if he didn't see her. Which really bothered her, because of all the guys, she wanted to see HIM the most.

Seeing her downcast expression, Jin smiled at her. "Don't you worry. All of us are here for you. Maybe even that knucklehead will come to his senses and come visit you himself eventually.

She managed a weak smile that probably looked as fake as it felt. "Thanks."

Deciding it would be best to drop the subject of Kurama for now, and barring any further discussion concerning the girl's own dimension, lest it bring on another crying fit, Yusuke offered to help her learn the history of their world.

Kuwabara rolled his eyes immediately. "YOU? Teach? Your average in school was only thirty percent!"

Yusuke rolled his eyes in turn. "Oh, and I suppose you did better? I've heard lots of stories about YOU, Kazu! Your grades were worse than mine!!"

The two boys blinked and looked at the demons in the room.

Rinku snorted. "Don't look at me. I'm not interested in human history. Believe me, the history of Demon World is hard enough to keep up with."

Chu nodded. "Ditto 'ere."

Hiei shrugged. "I've never had much interest in humans until recently and even then it's only passing. I don't even know who the hell the president of the United States is."

Touya shook his head. "I've got no clue about anything to do with humans... other than the fact that they can produce beautiful women..."

Jin grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "That's about as far as my own expertise goes as well, I'm afraid..."

Yusuke shrugged. "I guess I'll have to ask Keiko. She was a straight A student."

Chantelle didn't know how she felt about being tutored by a girl she didn't even know. Not to mention she preferred to study alone. But she also realized that they were just trying to be nice and so nodded silently.

They decided to leave her be shortly after that, and so she delved back into her book. Nothing was really sticking, and she found she couldn't focus at all. They were just meaningless words on a page. She felt, she realized in that instant, completely numb.

Finally, after trying for a good three hours to study with no success, she closed the book with a sigh and just stared into nothing. She tried not to think at all, because all thinking would lead up to would be memories that would lead to another crying spell.

Looking out the window that lead to her balcony, she was surprised to see that it was dark now. She had no idea what time it was, or if they even counted time the same as she was used to. This wasn't Earth, after all. It was... the Spirit World... Otherworld. One of three worlds in this dimension. Earth, the Spirit World, and the Demon World. Way different from what she was used to, back in her own boring world.

She stopped her train of thought immediately when an image of her family flashed through her mind once more. She stomped down the oncoming tears she felt coming at that brief memory and took in several deep breaths. There was no point in crying. It wouldn't solve anything. And if she started, she was afraid that with no one here to hold her, she wouldn't be able to stop.

Chantelle turned off the lights to her room and laid down on her bed, pulling the covers up. Then a new image came into her mind... one of Kurama, or Suichi Minamino. Whichever he preferred. His long red hair, gentle green eyes, that sweet heart melting smile he had always given her. She remembered the time she had first met him, the way he had held her hand to reassure her that she would not be harmed. The way he always sent a thanking smile and kind words her way whenever she had done something for them in her world. She remembered the way he had repaired the garden, so very graciously and humbly. The way he had very gently released that mouse that had almost caused her to break her neck, the way he had held her in his arms, and that incredibly sexy smirk he had gotten when he had told her of Youko Kurama. Then she remembered her ex and the expression he had worn then... first the one of concern after Matt's grip had been torn from her, and then the calm, burning rage he had had when he had sent him on his way. Then there was the tornado when it had struck. He had grabbed her and used his vines to shield her from the hail and held her close to him, even after the incident was over... until SHE was feeling fine enough to pull away.

She sighed heavily as she rolled onto her side. It wasn't his fault that she was here. Bonkotsu had been the one to open the damn portal. She had just been pulled into it. If he hadn't killed Bonkotsu when he had... who knows what he could have used his powers to accomplish? It had been his job to kill him, to keep him from bringing harm to other people. If the only loss in that end was that she had lost her own world, then it was most certainly something she could live with. Besides, what the hell would he have done if he HAD noticed she was there and HAD let Bonkotsu live? Force him to open a portal for her? Toss her in and hope that it lead to her home?"

She frowned lightly. It wasn't Kurama's fault, and she didn't blame him for a thing. She just hoped he realized that so she could have him hold her again.

She blinked then, turning red as that thought entered her mind. How could she think like that about a guy she hardly even knew? But... in the short time that she got to know him, he displayed so many wonderful qualities that she had never seen in any guy before. Utmost respect for one, something that she had been very greatly relieved to see with all of them. Sure, they flirted a little, but none of them pushed the issues... except for that one time with Hiei up by the oil well, but that was the exception rather than the rule. Besides, he had admitted that he had no interest in a long term relationship and they had both left it at that.

Before she could continue that train of thought, she heard another knock on her door.

She sat up with a sigh. "Come in."

The door opened and Koenma entered the room in his adult form, pacifier still in his mouth. He blinked, seeing the lights were off and she was in bed. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

She shook her head with a sigh. "Not even close. Come on in," she said, getting out from under the covers to sit on the edge of the bed.

He nodded, entering the rest of the way and closing the door behind him. Then he turned on the lights in her room and approached her. "I'm sorry for visiting you at such a late hour, but I have been positively swamped with work lately and I couldn't come any sooner..."

Chantelle waved it off. "You don't need to apologize. Like I said, I wasn't even sleeping." Then she looked at him as he approached. "So, what can I do for you?"

He produced a clipboard and a pen. "I know this is going to be difficult for you, but I need some information to help us to integrate you into society on Earth. The sooner I get this information the better. For identification and so we can give you a history. It wouldn't do for you to just appear out of nowhere, after all."

She looked up at him. "What kind of... information?"

He took in a deep breath. "Personal information... including some information regarding your... family, birthplace, full name... things like that."

She took in a deep breath. "Oh... okay."

Koenma sighed as he took a seat next to her on the bed. He looked at her. "I'll try to make this brief. I know this must be hard for you." He looked at the questions on the clipboard. "Your full name?"

"Chantelle May Parker."

He nodded and jotted it down. "Age?"

"19."

"Date of birth?"

"December 22, 1987."

"Marital status would be single?"

She nodded.

"Place of birth?"

"Royal Alexandria Hospital in St. Alberta, Alberta, Canada." She took a glance up at him for the first time since he had started his questionaire, and then did a double take, her hand going up to her mouth to stop a startled giggle from bursting forth.

He blinked and looked at her. "What is it?"

She was struggling to keep her composure. "Er... it's just that... um... your head... it... ahem... doesn't really... match... the rest of you... that is..."

Koenma blinked and then glanced in the mirror, seeing his infant head on his adult body. "Oh, for the love of...!!" He concentrated for a moment and his adult head was back on his body. "I have to concentrate to keep this form and it sometimes..."

She sighed heavily and looked at him. "Look, if you're more comfortable in your... regular form, it's okay. It just took me by surprise earlier, is all."

He sighed in relief and reverted to his natural for in a small puff of smoke. "Thank you... this is much better. Now then, let's continue." He looked at the form. "Your parents names?"

The smile that had been on her face seconds before was gone in an instat and her gaze turned downcast. She felt a sharp pain in her chest as she gave him the full name of both of her parents. "My fathers full name is Paul Emile Parker. My mothers full name is Patricia Joanne Parker... former surname Hunt." She said this quietly, and couldn't bring herself to look at him. She tried to keep the image of her parents out of her mind as she said their names, but they came despite her best efforts. She had to struggle to keep her throat from constricting.

There was a long moment of silence before she felt an adult hand gently take her own. She looked up in surprise and saw Koenma looking at her, even his pacifier gone... probably placed somewhere inside his robes.

"I'm okay, Koenma. I know you're not comfortable like that, so..."

He shook his head, his expression filled with sympathy. "I can't comfort someone effectively in my true form. I have a great fondness for humans, and I hate to see one suffer, either emotionally or physically. If I'm in a position where I can help them, then I do. And I'm in a position where I can help you right now." He set the clipboard aside and gently pulled her into a hug.

She gripped the front of his robes, feeling a little weird, not even sure exactly WHAT it was that was holding her. He looked human, but knowing his position and after seeing only a small piece of his ability totally undermind that appearance. But he was warm and held her securely as he let her cry. When she finally calmed down enough to pull away, she sighed and looked down.

"God, I feel pathetic..."

He shook his head. "You have every reason to cry. There's nothing pathetic about needing someone to comfort you when you've gone through such a terrible loss. I don't want you to start putting yourself down, because that can only lead to bad things. Just try to face what's coming and if you have a need to cry, then do it. There's no shame in grieving for a loss."

She nodded silently.

Koenma looked at the clipboard. "If you like, I could just come visit you some time tomorrow and we could continue this then..."

She shook her head. "No. It's best to get it over with now."

He hesitated, and then ndoded. "Alright." He reverted back into his infant form and they continued. Chantelle put on a steely countenance as she answered his questions. When he was finished, he took up the clipboard and looked at her. "I will get you to sleep and then let myself out. You're going to need plenty of rest."

She nodded silently and then blinked. "You can... get me to sleep?"

He nodded. "Yes. It's an easy procedure. You just need to lie down and I'll do the rest. It won't hurt in the slightest. In fact, I'm told it's actually a soothing experience."

Chantelle blinked, a little at a loss for a moment. She felt weird being lulled to sleep by someone who looked like an infant, but she just kept telling herself that she wasn't in her dimension anymore. She layed down on the bed and the infant floated up to her head, placing one of his hands at her temple. Chantelle felt a warmth flush throughout her mind and body, which was followed by a wonderful head swimming sensation, before the world around her spun away and she was lost in sleep.

Koenma looked at the girl for a long moment before he sighed and turned off the lights. He cast one last look back at the girl before he opened the door and let himself out of her room.

**Wow!! Chapter Ten was long!! Please tell me what you think!! R&R!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, here's chapter eleven!!**

**For the millionth time, I DON'T OWN YU YU HAKUSHO!!!!!**

The next day, she seemed to be getting worse. Once again, she couldn't eat more than a few bites of her food, and this time, when Botan gently prodded her to try, and she DID try, the food decided to reverse course. After that incident, she couldn't seem to bring herself to smile at all, and decided to spend the rest of the day in her room and tried studying once more. Yusuke's girlfriend, Keiko, dropped in and tried to help her with her studies, but even that didn't help her. Chantelle found Keiko to be a very nice girl, and very intelligent. Even after an undoubtedly frustrating time trying to tutor her, the girl was very understanding about the situation and simply left, somehow sensing that Chantelle wanted to be left alone.

The guys dropped in later, all except for Yusuke, Kuwabara and Rinku who had been sent on a minor mission on Earth and wouldn't be back for a couple of days. That just made her feel a little worse because she had been hoping Rinku could share her bed with her that night (not in a perverted way, ya freaks!!!). She just wanted someone to hold her close. In the time that she had shared her bed with Rinku back in her dimension, she had had no problems falling asleep. Something about him just immediately put her at ease. And Kurama, of course, had not shown up with the boys either.

She sighed and tried to study those books that had been delivered to her room a few days before. But just like before, she simply couldn't focus. After trying in vain for a few hours, she sighed and set the book she was trying to read aside and just laid down on her bed, trying to make her mind go completely blank.

It didn't work. Her mind was still completely blown away by what had happened and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep the images of her family and friends from haunting her. And each time an image of someone in her own world entered her mind, she couldn't stop the tears from flowing once again.

After what felt like her hundredth breakdown, she sat up on her bed, feeling like a complete wreck. Deciding that anything was better than this, she picked up her book and tried to read again. Finally, a few hours later, she gave it up as a hopeless cause and set it aside on her nightstand before shutting off the lights and trying to go to sleep.

She did sleep, but it was riddled with nightmares, both of the attack and of her family and friends leaving her. She tried to catch them, but with every step she took, she seemed to go slower and they just sped away from her faster. Chu had heard her crying out in her sleep as he was passing her room and quickly came in to wake her up, and held her for a few minutes until she had calmed down again.

After she had assured him that she was fine and he hesitantly went on his way once more, she couldn't sleep at all. She just laid in her bed for the rest of the night, tossing and turning, trying to ward off the images of her family and friends that insisted on imprinting themselves in her mind.

She looked terrible the next morning, and she didn't even bother trying to eat. Even Touya's expression turned concerned seeing her condition. Hiei's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched her every move, his arms crossed and his mouth set in a deep frown.

Then she simply excused herself and returned to her room, where she tried to pass the time as she had the day before. Keiko had returned to Earth, now having a job that she could no longer shirk from, and so she spent most of that time alone.

------------------------------------

Jin cursed loudly. "DAMN IT!! I jus' can't stand ta see her like this!!" he said, his hands balled into fists while under the gaze of Touya and Hiei.

Touya had his arms across his chest. "I know what you mean. She looked absolutely exhausted today. And she never even touched her food."

Jin sighed. "I just wanna see that lovely smile on her face again... ta hear that cute laugh... ANYTHING is better than this!! What the hell is Kurama thinking? That bloody idiot! Doesn't he know that he's hurting her more by staying away?!"

Hiei grunted. "The problem is that right now she is being overwhelmed by everything that's happened. She needs to feel that someone is close to her... closer than we've been thus far. She needs to feel something good. She wants it. Hell, she's craving it."

Jin looked at him. "Are ya suggestin' we seduce her or somethin'? Don't ya know that Kurama would have our heads if we did that?"

The koorime shrugged. "I think, for one, that Kurama no longer has a right to complain. After all, he hasn't even looked in on her once since her arrival. And besides that, do you honestly give a shit considering her current condition? Her mental state is a complete wreck, her emotions are scattered, and her physical health will also dwindle rapily if we don't do something drastic."

Touya looked at him cooly. "Since when are you an expert on humans?"

He shook his head. "I'm not. But this eye of mine isn't just for decoration. She can't stop thinking about her world and the family that she left behind. She needs something to take her mind off of that."

Jin hesitated, and then grinned. "Ah, what the hell? I've been wantin' ta be with a woman that attractive for a while now... an' yer right! That kitsune has no bloody right ta say a thing, after abandonin' her like that."

Touya blinked and shrugged, a small smirk coming to his face. "I suppose I could give it a shot... if it will make her feel better."

Hiei smirked, and his eyes glinted slightly. "A woman as beautiful as she is deserves to be pleasured." Neither of his companions saw the calculating look on his face.

**Hehehehe... I know that this chapter was pathetically short, but I couldn't resist leaving it off right there. What is Hiei up to? And just telling you right now, that the next chapter will be longer... watch Jin and Touya as they each try their hands at seducing Chantelle!!!!! Will she give in to them? Read and find out!! R&R!!!!!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here's chapter 12!!! R&R!!!**

**Oh yeah... I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

Chantelle set the book she was trying to read aside for what felt like the hundredth time. She had had another minor crying fit only moments before, and had tried to sleep to no avail. She was totally exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep for a week, but she just couldn't. And when she somehow DID manage to fall asleep, she wound up expriencing the nightmares and woke up, too afraid to fall asleep again. And the cycle continued. She had only been in this world for four days... so why did it feel like she'd been here for an eternity already?

She was about to try forcing her mind to go blank for the millionth time, just sitting on the edge of her bed, staring straight forward, when the knock came at her door.

Relieved by the distraction, however temporary it might be, she gave the affirmative. When the door opened, Jin stepped into the room, his wide green eyes twinkling and a grin on his face as he gave her a greeting wave.

"Hey, there! I just thought I'd come give my favorite girl a visit before it gets too late..." Then he blinked, looking at her. He saw that her eyes were slightly puffy. "Are you okay?" he asked, coming forward immediately.

She took in a shuddering breath, a sure sign that she had been crying only a moment or so before he came in. "Not... really," she answered, not bothering to try and hide it. Her appearance had definitely given it away already anyway.

He sat down beside her on the bed, his expression now concerned as he looked at her. "You've been cryin'?" It wasn't a question and they both knew it.

She sighed. "Almost nonstop. It just... seems to come out of nowhere." She shook her head. "I'm a wreck, Jin. I can't eat, I can't sleep, and when I DO sleep..."

He nodded, placing a hand on her own. "Chu told us about the nightmares."

She nodded. "I figured he would. I can't focus at all. Every time I try reading one of those books, nothing sticks. I can't make any sense of it. I can't..." Ah shit, she thought. Here comes another crying fit...

Jin saw it coming on the second she realized it herself, and before she knew it, he was holding her tight against him. She immediately started crying all over again, despite her attempts to keep it from happening. His strong arms held her close and her face was in his chest as she sobbed for a few minutes. His mouth was up by her ear as he hushed her soothingly and gently rocked her back and forth, his hands rubbing up and down her back. She just clung to him as her sobs tapered off and she spent a moment trying to compose herself, basking in his warmth. Then she slowly pulled away from him. His hands were on her shoulders as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry, Jin..."

He shook his head. "Don't ya be apologizin' for anythin'. Ya didn't do anythin' wrong. And besides, we told ya... if ya need anythin' we're all here for you."

She gave a shuddering sigh. "I know... and thankyou."

His right hand came up and brushed a few stray tears away, a gentle smile coming to his lips as he looked at her. Something about the way he looked at her sent her heart up in her throat. "I can't stand ta see you like this. Tears should never fall from the eyes of such a beautiful woman as you," he said, his voice low now. His hand came down from her face, gently brushing along the front of her body before both of his hands settled on her hips. The feeling of his fingers sent a feeling akin to an electric shock charging through her body.

She took in a sharp breath. "J... Jin..."

"Shhh..." He gave her a heart melting smile as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "Ya need something, Chantelle. Something that'll take your mind off of the terrible feelings that are overwhelming you. You need something that will make you FEEL good... and I want to be the one to relieve you of that pain. By doing this."

Jin closed the distance between them and he pressed his lips against her own as he pulled her right up against him. His hands started going up and down her back gently, and then moved to her sides, causing another surge of pleasure to surge through her. In that instant, her hesitation fled. Feeling the pleasure that his touch gave her immediately concealed the pain she had been feeling the last few days, and she decided that he was right. She DID need this. Before she knew what was happening, she was returning his kiss.

The Wind Master gently lowered her onto the bed, never breaking his lip to lip contact with her. One of his hands went down her front, and cupped her left breast, the other hand started moving down towards the buttons on her jeans. She let out a moan.

But then, an instant later, Jin's mind was filled with a memory, of when they had saved her from Matt and how she had revealed her past abusive relationships. And not only that, but also the time when she had revealed she was a virgin. Strangely, although it should have made him desire him all the more (as it had for a long time), this time it made him pause. There was a reason she had been waiting for it... she was waiting for a man who would treat her right. A long term relationship. Right now she was simply vulnerable, her emotions a jumbled mess, and all she wanted was some sort of relief to make her forget her troubles for the shortest amount of time. She wanted ANYTHING to take away the pain she was feeling. He knew in that instant that this was a mistake. She DID want someone, and even though she was willing right now to be with him, it was merely to distract her mind, and in the end it would hurt her all the more.

He broke the contact, and looked down at her face. She was breathless from the kiss and his sensitive ears could hear her heart hammering in her chest. She opened her eyes and looked at him, blinking when she saw his own expression.

"Jin?"

He sighed and sat up. "I'm sorry. I can't do this to you."

She blinked curiously and sat up with him. "Do what?"

He looked at her and sighed again. "Listen, Love. I know you're hurting, and right now you would give anything to make that pain go away. Even if it meant trading it in for only a few moments for a bit of pleasure. I know you think this is what you want right now, and it very well might be, but not with ME." He smiled at her. "You've held yourself back from doing this with a man because you wanted to be sure that it was a man that you truly had feelings for, a man that you knew would be right for you. Now, although in most cases I'm a trustworthy guy, I'm a little too lustful for you to trust fully in the relationship area. And if ya do this now, it'll only hurt you all the more in the end."

She looked disappointed, but she didn't argue. She understood what he was saying, so she simply nodded silently.

He cleared his throat and then got to his feet. "Well, I suppose I should leave ya be with that, then..."

As he started to head for the door, Chantelle's eyes widened and she reached out to stop him, taking a hold of his wrist. "Jin, wait!"

He blinked and looked down at her. "What is it?"

She sighed. "Would you... could you just... hold me for a while? Until I fall asleep?"

The Wind Master blinked again, seeing the circles under her eyes and her pale face. She was exhausted and if she had the ability to fall asleep on her own, she surely would have done so already. He smiled and nodded, sitting beside her once again. "Sure." He took her into his arms and held her head against his chest, while his other arm went around her waist and he held her close to him.

She basked in his warmth for long moments, her eyes sliding shut as they stayed in that position, Jin privately basking in her own warmth as he held her tightly against himself. After a good five minutes had passed, he heard her even breathing and the slow beat of her heart, indicating she was now asleep. Suppressing a regretful sigh, he gently lowered her down onto the bed once more and covered her with the blankets.

Looking at her peaceful features as she slept, he couldn't help it as a mischevious grin crossed his face and he decided to indulge himself just one last time with the beautiful woman. Leaning forward, he very gently placed his lips against hers for the span of a few heartbeats before he pulled away with a sigh of relief. Then he quietly shut off the light and left the room.

As he closed the door behind him, he jumped when he heard a voice.

"Well, that didn't take very long..."

He turned and saw Touya leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and his icy eyes regarding him cooly.

Jin sighed. "I just couldn't do it. She was more than willing, but..." he shook his head. "I know she would've wound up regrettin' it if we had done it, and I couldn't stand the thought of hurting her more."

Touya smirked. "She still awake?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I got her ta sleep." He stretched. "Which is what I'm on my way to do right now. It's gettin' late."

The Ice Master shrugged. "Good night, then."

Jin blinked. "Ya just going ta stay here?"

He nodded. "She'll only sleep for a few hours before another nightmare wakes her. I intend to be here to wake her when it strikes."

The wind demon shrugged. "Alright. She's all yours then. Goodnight, Touya."

The ice demon nodded. "Good night."

Only an hour passed before the Ice Master heard her start to cry out in her sleep and he entered the room. He saw her on the bed, sleeping restlessly, her head turning back and forth as she tried to stave off the nightmare that was consuming her. He listened to her cry out for her mother and father before he nodded to himself and stepped forward, sitting on the edge of her bed and shaking her awake.

The woman sat bolt upright in her bed, her eyes going wide as she gasped for breath. Touya could hear her heart hammering inside her chest and saw tears brimming her eyes. The instant she was upright, he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close to him, hushing her gently, his hands trailing up and down her back. She immediately gripped the front of his clothes and had her face buried in his chest while she sobbed for a few minutes. The Ice Master's mouth was right up by her ear as he whispered soothingly to her and shushed her gently. Soon she simply clung to him, only giving out the occassional shudder.

Then she slowly pulled away, looking up at him hesitantly. "Thank you, Touya."

He allowed a small smile to come to his lips as he nodded to her. "It was no problem. I was in the area." He had one hand on her waist and the other on her left shoulder. The hand on her shoulder came up and wiped some of her tears away. "You look like a wreck."

She almost smiled, but just couldn't bring herself to do it. "That's probably an understatement."

He put on an expression he knew was very effective in getting a woman's attention... a smirk with his brows furrowed slightly, but his eyes still icy as always. Seductive and yet slightly dangerous. "I didn't mean it to sound like you're in any way unattractive. You just look very tired and a little pale. You're still absolutly beautiful."

Her heart almost skipped a beat when she saw the expression and she felt a flush of heat go through her face as he looked at her. His smirk only widened.

"Ah, now we've got some color back in you." He cupped her face with his hands, making sure the hand that came from her hip just barely contacted with her breasts, evincing a slight shudder from her. "Shall we see if I can get some more color back in those cheeks of yours? Or would you like to give me another reaction?" He brought his face forward and very gently brushed his lips against her own.

Chantelle was shocked for a few precious seconds. First Jin, and now Touya? She almost wondered at the strangeness of the timing, but when his tongue gently brushed against her lips and she gasped in surprise, any further speculation was forgotten.

A moan escaped from her lips as his tongue immediately entered her mouth and started to explore tentatively. He broke the contact for a few seconds as he lay her down on the bed once again and leaned over her, bending his face close to her own. He kept a seductive smile on his lips.

"Although I may be an ice demon, I also have another little know talent. I have the ability to make a woman very... hot..." he said huskily, his hand coming up to cup her left breast, immediately being rewarded by another moan. He brought his lips down to her own again and continued to work his magic with her body, taking care to torment her slightly by leaving on her clothes and dragging it out as long as possible. He slowly started to maneuver down with his lips, sending butterfly kisses down her throat as his hand slowly started to make its way under her shirt.

But then, in that instant, he, like Jin, was struck by a series of images in his mind... the same ones as his team mate had had. How she had revealed her past abusive relationships after her encounter with Matt and the time when she had revealed she had not yet lost her virginity. Like Jin, he immediately paused, the same realization dawning on him that this might not be the best idea. If she should regret this action tomorrow, it would most definitely make her pain increase, and that was not what he wanted.

He pulled away immediately, cursing himself for his stupidity. "Damn. I'm an idiot. What the hell am I doing?"

Chantelle looked at him. "Whatever it is, I approve!"

He looked at her with his icy eyes. "Will you be able to say that when you wake up tomorrow morning... when you realize that you've lost your virginity to me? I'm not a relationship kind of guy, although the thought has crossed my mind on the rare occassion. Do you really want to lose your virginity due to a one night stand, Chantelle?"

Hearing those words and seeing his now cool expression, she almost felt on the verge of tears once more. But she understood what he was saying. And he was right. No matter how much she wanted to feel something other than that pain, she couldn't just cave in to the pleasure he was offering her. She wanted something, yes, but not from Touya. She wanted it to come from... HIM...

Touya saw her tormented expression and sat beside her on the bed slowly, pulling her against him to just hold her a few minutes. "I'll stay with you until you go to sleep, and then I'll let myself out," he said gently.

She just nodded into his chest silently and let him hold her.

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Standing on a high branch in the courtyard of the palace, Hiei smirked, replacing his headband back over his third eye. He knew those two would be stricken with guilt with his little ploy. With their advances on her, they had made the woman's desire for sexual release all the greater, but at the same time, the way they had stopped themselves lowered her options, and would continue to bring her thoughts to a certain kitsune. The first phaze of his plan was complete. Now he had to start phaze two.

He stood there for a few moments longer, focusing once more with his jagen eye and saw as Touya layed the now sleeping girl down once again and left the room wordlessly. Then he jumped from the tree he had been standing in and started to make his way to one of the ponds in the courtyard.

He saw Kurama standing beneath a tree, leaning against its trunk with his arms hanging limply at his side as he just looked over the water, his back turned to the fire demon. He knew Kurama knew he was there.

"Can I help you with something, Hiei?"

He got right down to the point. "You can't keep doing this. She's hurting and she needs you, Kurama."

"I can't see her. That would only hurt her more, after what I've done to her."

Hiei snorted. "Her condition can't get much worse, trust me. You wouldn't know this, seeing as how you haven't even looked in on her once since we've returned, but she's is a total wreck right now. She can't keep her food down, she can't sleep, and when she does sleep, she suffers from nightmares. I have not seen her smile once in the past three days. She's in a complete daze when she's not having a breakdown, and her studies of our Earth are going nowhere. She simply can't focus. I'll also have you know that in all the time that we've been seeing her, even with her knowing that you were the one who killed Bonkotsu, she didn't say a single thing that suggests that she harbors any ill feelings toward you at all. In fact, she's upset because you WON'T come see her."

"Chantelle's not the kind of person who would speak badly about anyone... especially to the friends of the person in question. But inside she must hate me."

The fire demon shrugged, a motion unseen by Kurama. "If you say so. Then I guess there's no harm in me telling you the most recent developments. You see, needing a way to relieve her of her pain, Jin and Touya both decided to try their hands at seducing her tonight."

THAT got Kurama's attention. He had to smirk when he saw him stiffen. When he spoke, his voice was low and held a very real threat. "They what?"

He waved it off. "You don't need to worry. She's still a virgin. The both of them seem to think that she would only be hurt more if either of them were the ones to take her. They started out with the intentions in mind, but stopped themselves before it got anywhere."

The fox demon seemed to relax slightly hearing this, and Hiei could hear him breathe a small sigh of relief.

He smirked once more. "I, on the other hand, figure that if physical pleasure will cause her to forget her problems if only for a short while, then it's worth the sacrifice, wouldn't you agree? So, I'm going to try my own luck with her, but unlike the last time, I intend to go all the way."

Kurama whirled, his eyes ablaze with rage immediately and flickering golden in the darkness. "You wouldn't DARE!!!"

Hiei's gaze turned hard. "The way I see it, Kurama, you lost any right you may have had to complain about that particular issue. She needs someone to be close to her right now, and if YOU'RE not going to give her that, then I will. It's that simple. Would you rather she continue to live on in misery? You haven't had to see her ekeing by from day to day, but I have, and I'm not just going to stand around and watch as her condition worsens. Her mental state is rapidly deteriorating, and her health is going to go on a downward spiral as well if someone doesn't do something. Do you want that to happen to her?"

He gritted his teeth together for a moment before he sighed heavily. "No."

He smirked. "I thought not." Then he turned. "I just thought you'd like to know what's been going on since you haven't come to see for yourself. I'll leave you be now. Goodnight, Kurama."

The fire demon walked away without another word, smirking as he did so. He would leave Chantelle be for tonight. She needed the small amount of sleep she was going to be getting, and having three men seduce her in one night would be more likely to stress her out than anything else. So he decided on tomorrow night. That was when he was going to put the final stage of his plan into motion.

**Hehehe!! Chapter twelve!! In the next chapter, Hiei puts the final part of his plan into motion!!! Read and Review!!!!!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, everyone, here's chapter thirteen!! Please tell me what you think!**

**I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

The next day was much like the previous ones. Chantelle got out of bed early and made her way to the washroom. She bathed and dressed in the fresh clothes that had been left out of her... pants and a Japanese style shirt, both of which were close fitting. Then she went to the dining hall to pick at her food for a few minutes before returning to her room. Her stomach was aching due to the lack of food, but she didn't really care anymore. She knew if she tried to eat, it would only come back up and she really didn't want to put herself in that position again.

She tried to study once more, with no success, had her usual breakdowns in the privacy of her room, and had a brief visit from Chu, who had brought her an apple in the hopes of it staying down. She had a few bites of it, and managed to eat about half of it before her stomach started to protest and she set the last half of it aside.

She went about her room, trying anything she could to distract her mind, what had happened the night before with Jin and Touya only vague memories now. It had felt nice while it was happening, but now she was grateful that they hadn't taken it any further than it had gone.

She settled down on her bed once more and opened another book, trying to focus for a few hours to distract her mind, before she sighed in defeat and closed the book. "Why do I bother?" she muttered.

"Having some problems?"

Chantelle let out a screech and nearly jumped out of her skin when she turned and saw Hiei standing in her room, having come in off the balcony. Then she sighed again, holding a hand over her heart. "You have SO got to stop doing that..."

He smirked and shrugged. "I would have come through your door, but I didn't feel like going through that maze they call a palace. This is easier and less obvious."

She blinked, looking up at him. "So... what's up?"

He shrugged. "I just thought I'd come see how you're doing. Judging by what I've seen so far, I'd say you're not doing very well, am I correct?"

She sighed. "Yeah. I'm... trying not to think... about what happened and about my world, but..." She shook her head. "Nothing's working." She had yet another image of her family and friends that had been left behind in her world and she looked away from Hiei, feeling the tears ready to fall once more. She didn't want to cry in front of him.

Hiei looked at her for a long moment and could see her start to tremble. He slowly came forward.

A moment later, Chantelle felt a weight on the bed behind her and she felt Hiei's ever warm hands gently snake around her midsection. He pulled her gently right up against him, settling his legs on either side of her as he settled his head on her left shoulder.

Chantelle's heart leaped into her throat in that instant, remembering her encounter with Hiei up at the oil well. When his hands slowly started making their way up and down her front as they had that night, she let in a shuddering breath and a small moan.

"I'm right here," he said in her ear softly, his lips brushing up against her lobe.

She shuddered at the contact and felt her heart rate start to increase, feeling his hands as they moved up and down the front of her body. She could feel his hot breath up against her cheek, and then felt his lips gently brushing against the side of her neck.

"Now, can you remember the last time we were in this position?" he purred gently, and she could feel the smirk on his lips against her skin.

She let out another moan just as he gently moved to the side and layed her down on the bed. He then leaned over her, straddling her as he leaned in close to her once again as her eyes opened slightly, showing her blue-green orbs. When she saw his red eyes blazing into her own, she couldn't help but shiver.

He brought his face down and gently brushed her lips with his own, his hands still gently moving up and down the sides of her body. Hiei was immediately rewarded with another moan as she started to breathe more rapidly, her body giving off pheremones from the pleasure he was giving her.

He breathed in her scent. Mingled with the pheremones, had he not trained himself to control his body over the y ears, he would have truly taken her, plan be damned. But he held off the full scope of his reaction, and just started sending gentle kisses down her jawline and throat as his hands slowly made their way beneath her shirt.

Chantelle was almost swimming in pleasure now, another moan escaping her lips as his warm hands contacted her skin and moved up her front beneath her shirt, making their way toward her breasts. That, combined with the light kisses he was giving her neck, sent her mind reeling.

Hiei saw her pleasure and smirked, briefly considered continuing his torture for a few moments longer, and then shoved the thought from his mind. Although he wouldn't admit this to anyone, even HE would not deliberately hurt her just for his own pleasure. He knew she was willing now, but in the morning, if they were to go through with this, she would definitely be regretting it... just as Touya had pointed out to her the night before. But he wasn't going to be the one to stop it. SHE was. He simply had to give her a nudge in the right direction.

Chantelle's mind was suddenly filled with a plethora of images... not of her family and friends that she had left behind, but of Kurama. She would have found it a little strange if she had been in the right frame of mind, but at the moment, it simply struck a cord in her.

She remembered Kurama's gentle smile, the way he had held her in his arms when he had saved her from the mouse, the way he had protected her from the falling hail and wind when the tornado struck, the expression on his face when he told her of his demon half, Youko Kurama. Then Touya's words came back to her.

_"Do you really want to lose your virginity due to a one night stand, Chantelle?"_

Her eyes snapped open in that instant, and although the physical desire was still there, she fought against it. "H... Hiei! Wait!"

The fire demon paused, and his eyes met her own. She almost shivered at how intense they seemed.

She tried to compose herself. "I'm sorry. I can't do this."

He continued to look at her, his expression serious before he slowly got off of her.

Chantelle sat up, and started to tremble. Hiei stood off the side, his long jacket on once more as he looked at her, his arms across his chest. "I don't want you to think that's you, Hiei... you really are a great guy. It's just that... I mean..." She sighed. "I just can't." She had to look away from him when she felt the tears starting to build up again.

After a moment, she felt him sit beside her on the bed, and was shocked when she felt his arms go around her as he pulled her against him gently. "I understand. You don't have to explain anything." His mouth was by her ear now and he lowered his voice. "And you don't have to be afraid to cry around me. I might not be the friendliest person out there, but I'm not going to snort in disgust when someone's experiencing the kind of emotional turmoil that you are."

She nodded and let herself cry a little as he enfolded her into his arms.

"Ever since I got here... things have just been totally messed up. You guys have been great... I know you've all been trying very hard to make me feel better but..." She shook her head. "I hate to play favorites, but... the one I've wanted to see the most hasn't even looked in on me once..."

He nodded, holding her close. "Listen. You haven't gone outside since you were given your tour by Botan. Why don't you go for a walk? It's a nice night, and I'm sure you'd love the fresh air and the scenery. It might help to clear your head a little. Might help you to relax."

She nodded into his shoulder. "Yeah... I guess I have been feeling a little closed in."

"I know a nice place by one of the ponds in the courtyard. There's a large tree right on the edge of it that you could sit beneath. It's actually one of my favorite spots out here. It's peaceful and the sound of the water is very relaxing."

Chantelle thought she remembered the place he was talking about from her tour with Botan. She simply nodded. "Okay. I'll give it a try. Thank you, Hiei."

He pulled away from her and she could have sworn that just for a second, there had been a gentle smile on his lips, but it turned into a smirk before she could be absolutely sure. "No problem. But I've got to go. I'll see you later. Try to get some sleep tonight."

She nodded as he got to his feet once more and started off. She turned to invite him to come with her, not really wanting to be alone right now, but he was already gone out the balcony window.

She sat there for a long moment, and let out a sigh. It was nice and warm out tonight, so she didn't see any reason to put on a robe for warmth. She slowly climbed to her feet and left her room, and then exited the palace, making her way to the pond in the courtyard.

**Hehehe... I'll end it off here. And just to let you all know... LEMON IN NEXT CHAPTER!!!!! Can you guys guess who it'll be with??? R&R!!!!!!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here's chapter fourteen!! The chapter you've all been waiting for!! Lemon between Chantelle and YOUKO KURAMA!!!!! Please read and review everyone!!!**

**I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho!**

Chantelle looked at the ground as she walked, but the fresh air did help to clear her mind a little. As she neared the pond and the tree, she looked up, just to be sure she wasn't going to walk into any unforseen obstacles. But an instant later, she stopped dead in her tracks, her breath catching in her throat. Her eyes went wide, seeing someone leaning against the tree that Hiei had spoken of.

Kurama looked just as surprised as she was, his eyes wide as he looked at her. He seemed to cringe slightly, like an animal ready to bolt. He seemed frozen, just as she was, and for a long moment, they could do nothing but stare at each other.

He shook off the shock first. "I'm sorry. You probably came out here to be alone. I'll just..." He started to walk away.

Her eyes widened as her own paralysis broke. She raced forward. "Kurama, wait!" She managed to get a hold of his right hand. "Please, don't go!"

The second she had caught hold of his hand, he stopped in his tracks and cringed once more. He was faced away from her, so she couldn't see his expression.

"How can you even want to see me after what I've done to you? My actions were unforgivable."

She shook her head, an action unseen by the fox yokai. "After what you...? And what exactly do you think it is that you did to me, Kurama? Why do you think I hate you all of a sudden?"

"You KNOW what I did. I killed Bonkotsu... the one person who had the ability to return you to your own world. Now you are trapped here due to my lack of foresight. Had I seen you were with us when we came through..."

"What? You would have let him live? You would have forced him to open another portal for me and sent me through it?" She shook her head again and sighed. "Hiei told me that you're known for analyzing situations from every given angle, Kurama. I'm surprised that you of all people would even CONSIDER doing something that stupid."

He turned then, his expression a mixture of surprise, disbelief and maybe just the slightest tinge of anger. "WHAT?! Don't you WANT to go home? Back to the family and friends that you left behind?"

"Of course I do! But I CAN'T! And even if Bonkotsu WAS still here, I still wouldn't be able to. Not because he wouldn't have the ability to get me back, but because you couldn't trust him to use that ability to get me back to my own home. Think about it, Kurama! Do you honestly think that you could trust someone like HIM? Could you be absolutely sure that the portal would lead to my home? It could lead me to ANYWHERE! The bottom of the ocean, over a lake of lave, the middle of the Amazon, or maybe even to a completely different realm filled with dangers that I couldn't even begin to fight against!" As she spoke, his expression changed to one of shock. In that instant, the floodgates opened again and she simply flung herself at him, clinging to the front of his shirt. "These last few days you've been so busy convincing yourself that it was your fault and that I hated you, that you never even stopped to consider that it wasn't your fault! You HAD to kill Bonkotsu! It was too dangerous to let a man like him live! And ever since I got here, I've been going out of my mind! I can't eat, I can't sleep, and I can't focus on anything! The others all tried everything they could to make me feel better, but the one I wanted to see the most was YOU!!" If she had looked up, she would have seen his eyes widen slightly as she clung to him and continued listening to her speak. His arms hung limply at his sides. "All I wanted was to have you smile at me, to hold me. All I wanted was for you to tell me that everything was going to be okay!" Her grip on the front of his shirt tightened slightly. "Damnit... Kurama! I think I'm in love with you!!"

The words had just come as if of their own accord and she almost choked after she realized she had said them. She started to tremble once more as he continued to just stand there. She couldn't bring herself to look up at him, afraid of what she might see.

The seconds dragged on. Then, slowly, she felt his arms go around her. Their hold was gentle at first, and then they tightened around her.

She felt a flood of relief go through her as she wrapped her arms around him.

His head settled on her shoulder, his lips right by her ear. "I am so sorry, Chantelle," he whispered. "You're right. I am a fool for not having seen it myself before now. But from the moment I realized that you had been in the portal with us, I immediately blamed myself for the fact that you were trapped here, thinking that if I had let Bonkotsu live, he could have sent you home with his dimensional ability. I didn't even stop to consider the possible downfalls of letting him live and entrusting you to one of his portals. You're right. The risk was far too great to send you through one of them." He pulled away gently, and he lifted her chin with his index finger, his thumb gently going over her bottom lip as his other hand came up to brush away her tears. She saw a gentle smile on his lips as he looked at her. "I promise you that from this moment on, I will be with you and help you in any way that I can. I will offer my encouragement, I will hold you when you need to be held, and I will give you something else, if you still wish it."

She blinked, looking at him. "What's that?"

He let his smile grow a little. "This." He closed the distance between them and brushed his lips against her own. Chantelle's legs turned to jelly immediately, but his arms wrapped around her and held her upright as he kept the contact.

Chantelle was in immediate heaven, and felt as if a huge weight had just been lifted off her shoulders. Her feet found purchase once again as she wrapped her arms around him tightly and returned the kiss. It felt so nice to have him hold her like this, to have him KISSING her like this. To know that he was going to be there with her now, to help her adjust to things. But then, all these thoughts came to a screeching halt, when...

"It's about bloody time!! Jeez, I thought those two would never get together!!"

Chantelle and Kurama immediately broke the kiss and turned as one, staring in shock at the five figures standing off to the side. Jin had been the first to speak. He had his hands behind his head and a goofy grin on his face.

Touya nodded at his side, a smirk on his own face. "I actually didn't think it would work. I thought he'd bolt the second he saw her. I guess he was too lost in his own thoughts to even sense that she was approaching."

Koenma looked down at Hiei. "Althought the underhandedness of your scheme didn't sit well with me at first, I must commend you now. He's been doing nothing but brooding for the last week!"

Chu smirked, his arms across his chest. "Well? Are you two just goin' ta stand there an' stare at us, or are ya goin' ta keep goin'?"

The both of them both balked. "YOU MEAN YOU GUYS PLANNED THIS?!"

Four of them shook their heads as Jin indicated Hiei. "He did. The little bugger's been pulling strings these last few days left and right. He never even told us about it until about a half hour ago in Koenma's office. Naturally, we all had to come out and see if it would work."

Chantelle stared at the fire demon who was smirking, seemingly self-satisfied. "Hiei?" she asked increduously.

His smirk only grew bigger. "Well, your health was going to start deteriorating if someone didn't do SOMETHING. And that idiot was doing nothing but brooding and avoiding everyone for the past week. It was obvious to everyone but you and him that the two of you liked each other, so I knew getting you two alone for a few minutes would clear things up."

Touya scowled a little. "Though I don't see why you had to manipulate the two of US," he said, indicating himself and Jin.

He snorted. "Hn. Because the first thing I had to do was to eliminate the other possible options she had. And give her a small taste of physical pleasure in the process. That's why I suggested that the three of us seduce her."

Chantelle and Kurama's eyes went huge. "YOU SUGGESTED IT?!" the two of them cried as one.

Then Chantelle turned to the kitsune, her eyes going wider as she immediately turned beet red. "WAIT A SEC!!!! YOU MEAN YOU KNEW THAT TOUYA AND JIN...????"

He nodded. "Yes. In fact, Hiei was the one who told me about it last night."

The fire demon nodded. "And I was the one who STOPPED them from taking it any further than it went." He took off his headband and revealed his third eye. "As I keep telling everyone... this eye isn't just for decoration."

Jin nodded, a scowl on his face. "Yeah, that dirty little bugger gave us each a dose of guilt ta make us stop. Although I can't argue with his logic, because it WOULD have only hurt ya more in the morning..."

Hiei nodded. "And I told YOU, Kurama, because I wanted you to know just how vulnerable she really was." His gaze fell on Chantelle again, and his smirk returned. "And when I seduced you tonight... I believe you'll recall a flurry of images invading your mind as I was pleasuring you? I did that knowing you would stop me. Then all it took was suggesting you go on a little stroll and telling you of the peaceful scenery that waited under the tree by the pond.

The two of them stared in total disbelief, Chantelle redder than a peony, knowing that not only had her interactions with Jin, Touya and Hiei been PLANNED by the fire demon, but also that Kurama actually KNEW about them.

"I don't know whether I want to kill him or kiss him," she said dumbly.

Kurama nodded in agreement. "I'm leaning towards the former at the moment, although... his plan DID work. If it hadn't, then..."

Jin grinned broadly. "Now, now! Enough with the plan! It worked and that's all that matters, now doesn't it? We all came out here to see a show and I believe you two were in the process of locking lips. Where do you plan to go from there? Come on, now. Don't be shy. We're waiting..."

Now Chantelle's eyebrow started to twitch in shock and disbelief. "I think we need some privacy..."

"I agree," Kurama said immediately.

"Your room or mine?" she asked.

"Which one is closer?" he countered.

"I don't know. Where's your room?"

"On the east end of the palace down the hall from the library."

She nodded immediately. "That's closer than mine. Let's go."

He nodded, taking her by the hand and leading her away. Then he stopped in midstride. "Oh, Hiei. I caution you to not use your jagen eye to peek in on us any further tonight. If I happen to learn that you did, I don't think I have to tell you what the consequences will be."

The fire apparation smirked. "Not to worry. My job is done."

Kurama nodded, his expression dead serious. "Good." He continued on his way, Chantelle's hand still firmly in his hold.

---------------------------------------

Moments later, Kurama closed the door of his room behind him and Chantelle. Then they stood there in silence for a moment, regarding each other, not really sure what should happen now.

She rubbed the back of her head. "You know... now that we're alone again... it's actually a little..."

Kurama nodded. "Awkward. Yes, I know." Then a thoughtful expression came to his features. "Do you remember be telling you of Youko Kurama... my demon form?"

She blinked and nodded.

He smiled. "He could take the awkwardness out of any romantic situation. As I'm sure you remember me telling you, he is very attractive to females and has an incredibly seductive nature." His eyes locked with hers. "Would you like to meet him now?"

She felt a small smile coming to her lips. "Sure."

His expression turned a little serious. "I don't think I need to tell you what will happen between us when he takes over, Chantelle. I feel I should ask you... are you certain you are ready for this?"

Her expression turned curious. "If... he feels something... do you feel it too?"

He nodded. "Of course. We are one and the same. If I am injured in battle and he takes control, then he too has the injuries that I sustained in the fight. Pain and pleasure are shared between the two of us."

She nodded, a small feeling of relief coming into her mind. "Good. I didn't want either one of you to be left out."

He blinked and then his gentle smile returned. "You are so very curteous and kind, not wanting my human side to be left out of our interaction. I can assure you, the pleasure he receives will be enjoyed by myself as well." Then he nodded. Chantelle watched the air shimmer around Suichi Minamino and his form changed into that of an INCREDIBLY handsom man with pale skin, long silver hair, a white robe, fox ears sticking out the top of his head, and a long silky tail. They were silver in color, however, not red, and instead of making him look adorable, they simply made him look otherworldly. His eyes opened and her breath caught in her throat when she saw his golden eyes looking at her. He looked nothing like the man that had stood before her a moment ago, but he was easily the single most attractive man she had ever seen in her life. She immediately felt the blood rush into her face, and in that instant, the man before her smirked. And when he spoke, she found that his voice was the same, but held a tone that was obviously different from his human counterpart.

"What's the matter, my lovely mortal? Do you see something you like?" he purred, his eyes flickering along her frame.

Her breath caught in her throat again and she felt her heart start to pound in her chest. No wonder Hiei had told her that she wouldn't be able to resist his charm... and he hadn't even laid a single finger on her yet! It took her a couple of seconds to respond as she couldn't keep her own eyes from wandering up and down his own form.

When she finally spoke, her voice was a little constricted. "Um... uh... uh huh..." was all she could manage, giving him a nod as she felt more blood rush to her head.

His smirk widened and he chuckled. She shivered at the sound of it and was rooted to the spot as he stepped up to her. One hand came up to brush the side of her face, and the other went around her waist and pulled her close to him. Then he leaned in close, placing his face beside her own and breathed her in deep.

"My dear Chantelle... I am afraid we have a problem that we must address immediately."

"What's that?" she managed to get out, trying to keep control of her bodies reaction to this man with little success.

When he spoke again, his voice was low and had a quality to it that almost sent her over the edge. "You still have the scent of that fire demon upon you. I must replace it with my own."

She felt his lips gently brush against the side of her neck and she had a feeling akin to electric shock course through her body. Her legs went out from beneath her in that instant, but the fox demon scooped her up in one smooth motion. When she looked up and saw a look of amusement on his face, and the seductive glint in those golden eyes, she shivered.

"This is why demons love virgins... they are so easy to pleasure." He brought his mouth by her ear once again. "And I intend to take full advantage of that little fact before we become one."

Chantelle couldn't think of a response to his words as he carried her to the bed and gently set her down, leaning in close to her. His golden eyes met hers and she shivered again. Then he leaned forward and his lips very subtly brushed her own as his hands started to trail gently up and down the sides of her body.

A moan esaped her lips and Youko took immediate advantage of the opening, as he started to tentatively explore the inside of her mouth with his tongue.

Even lying down, the world started to spin around Chantelle and her heart beat picked up. Then he started to trail down her jawline and throat with soft kisses as his hands slowly started beneath her shirt. His fingers brushed against her bare skin and another electric shock went through her. Kurama smirked, seeing her reactions as he took hold of the bottom of her shirt and pulled it off over her head, revealing the white lace bra concealed beneath and her flat stomach.

He leaned forward once more and continued to leave a trail of kisses down her throat and along her collarbone. She took in a sharp breath as her heartrate skyrocketed. She started breathing in short gasps.

She heard Youko growl low in his throat as his tongue whipped out, contacting her skin. He continued to make his way down, unclasping her bra and exposing her breasts.

His lips brushed against those two mounds as his hands went down to her jeans, undoing them before he brought his hands back up the sides of her body in a slow, deliberate manner, and he was immediately rewarded with another moan of pleasure.

Youko brought his lips to her own once more, giving her a full kiss, filled with lustful desire. She moaned as his hands trailed down the sides of her body once more and then back up again. He sent another trail of kisses down her jaw, over her collarbone, over her breasts, then down her stomach, nearing her navel.

She took in a sharp intake of breath, and her back arched with the pleasure he was gifting her with. She heard him chuckle again, and she was beginning to fervently wish he would just get inside of her and give her release. But at the saie time, she also hoped he would keep going the way he was... with this delicious torture.

He smirked, almost as if he was reading her mind, and slowly started to remove her pants, his warm hands snaking down the sides of her legs. Chantelle's vision blurred with the sensation that contact gave her, and when she could see once more, she saw that Youko was now bare from the waist up. He then leaned in close to her navel once more and gave the skin just below it a lick, sending a shudder through the woman beneath him.

He sent his hands down the sides of her legs once again, but this time going inward with a feathers touch. The womans back arched again and she let out a loud moan.

She heard him chuckle. "Don't worry, my lovely mortal. I shall give you release soon enough. Although I have to say, I am enjoying this greatly."

If she could have said something in response to his words, she would have, but her mind was reeling with the sensations that were assaulting her, and it was all she could do to see straight.

The fox demon then leaned in close to her again, this time nuzzling her neck, a low growl emitting from deep in his throat. His hands trailed up and down the sides of her body and then came up to massage her breasts. He straddled her now, his silver hair falling about Chantelle's face like a curtain, his right ear brushing against her cheek. She couldn't help it as she let out another small moan of pleasure. It was then that one of his hands left her breasts and she could feel as they started working on unclothing his bottom half.

He brought his face up, mere inches from her own when he had finished. Chantelle's breathing was coming in short gasps from his administrations and she was desperately trying to calm the hammering in her chest. His golden eyes locked with her own as a sexy smirk came to his lips and she couldn't help but shiver. He brushed his lips against her own gently for a moment, and then brought his lips up by her ear. She felt the hot breath against her neck, and felt as he positioned himself.

"Here is your release, my beautiful mortal," he breathed, and then thrust himself into her.

In that instant, the wonderful pleasuring sensations that she had felt up until then was undertoned by an unexpected surge of pain, and she took in a sharp breath.

He quickly leaned in close to her face once more. His hands came up and cupped her face gently. "I know it hurts. But the pain will not last long. This is your first time and you merely need to adjust. I will not continue until the pain has subsided," he whispered.

She just nodded breathlessly as he continued to caress the sides of her face, his silver hair tickling her shoulders. After a few moments, the pain subsided, just as he had said it would, and it was now nothing more than a mild ache.

"I... I'm okay now..." she said, opening her eyes a little, to see his golden eyes still looking up on her.

He gave her a gentle smile. "I will go slow for you."

He gave gentle thrusts every few seconds, and Chantelle noticed that the pain she had felt before was slowly being replaced by a wonderful pleasure, the likes of which she had not yet experienced. Her breathing came in short gasps, as she started to let out moans, and felt her skin start to slicken with perspiration with the sudden heat she felt.

Youko, seeing that the pain had subsided in the woman beneath him, smirked, bringing his lips down to her own, using a little more force than he had before, using a little of his own personal hunger take control as he increased the speed of his thrusts.

She didn't complain and showed no signs of pain or discomfort. In fact, she just moaned louder, her breathing coming in haggard gasps now. Moments passed as their bodies both heated and perspired, slick against each other.

The pleasure came to a head, as Youko let out a moan of his own, releasing his seed into her. Chantelle cried out in pleasure, and followed it with a long moan.

Youko stopped his movements and slumped over her, holding himself up on his elbows. He was still inside her as he gently leaned forward and tenderly brought his lips to her own. Then he removed himself from inside her and slowly layed down at her side, pulling her against him. She laid her head on his shoulder, gasping for breath and wrapped her own arms around him. She stayed like that for several long minutes, her energy completely sapped. Kurama gently kissed her on the forehead, and she felt him smile.

"Did you like that?" he whispered.

She laughed weakly, still a little winded from her exprience. "Is that a trick question? Damn, you're gonna turn me into a nymphomaniac, Youko..."

She heard his growl low in his throat as his lips brushed up against her ears, taking a moment to gently nibble on her lobe. "I would gladly give you that pleasure every night, Chantelle. I would give you what you had tonight, and more."

She was about to say something in response to this, but his lips found hers, cutting her off. When he pulled away, he pulled her head to his chest and started running the fingers of one hand through her hair, and the other hand ran gently up and down her bare back. "Say nothing. You are exhausted and should get some sleep now. Know that I am right here with you."

She didn't bother arguing as her eyes slid shut as if they had a mind of their own. Chantelle felt safe and warm, held in the arms of the kitsune, and she was asleep in seconds.

**Alrighty!! Chapter fourteen is up, people!! I don't have a chapter fifteen yet, and unfortunately it might take me a few days to get it up!! Please be patient with me!! And tell me what you think!! I really want to know!! R&R everyone!!**


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